


Carpe Noctem/Natem

by derseroyalty



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, F/F, I'll put a warning before it happens, Multi, hope y'all have a lovely day!, mentions of violence in later chapters, there are a few powers tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-08-08 22:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7775461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derseroyalty/pseuds/derseroyalty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is Karkat Vantas, and you have no idea if this plan is going to work. </p><p>Your best friend on the other hand is determined it will, and has even bet on it. </p><p>"What the fuck are you thinking, Nepeta Leijon?"</p><p>DISCONTINUED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST IN THIS STORY; SORRY!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. what the fuck nepeta

**Author's Note:**

> hi!!! this'll be my introduction to AO3, so I hope you enjoy this story!! there's not a lot of fefnep/erinep stories out there and I would love to make one, so here we go!!

Your name is Karkat Vantas, and you have no idea if this plan is going to work. 

Your best friend on the other hand is determined it will, and has even bet on it. 

"What the fuck are you thinking, Nepeta Leijon?"

Senior year in your high school leaves all of your idiotic friends slacking off, with the exception of a few. Everyone is determined to make this year the best of their lives and you frankly don't give a fuck. Right now, you're in art class just for the credit. Luckily for you, one of your best friends is in the class with you and is willing to help you on the several projects the teacher has everyone do throughout the year. 

It's the beginning of October and her eyes are fixated upon the two new kids at the front of the room. With her curly black hair stuffed into her cat hat, bright green eyes, and clothing with paint stains, she really fits the part of an artist. She glances back at you and grins; her fangs flash at you for a second. "Aw c'mon Karkat, you don't think I can do it? Even for $20?"

"I never fucking said that," you snap at her. Your hand inches towards the red beanie the various administrators had told you to take off. Seeing the teacher distracted for the moment, you put it back on and adjust your spiky black hair underneath the hat. "I just think it's a bit fucking weird to immediately ask her to prom. It's October, and I'm going to win this bet."

"I know that, and you will definitely not!" Nepeta swats at you. You're grateful that she's not wearing the gloves Kanaya made her; at a request from Nepeta's moirail and to Nep's excitement, Kanaya added sharp blue claws underneath the fabric. They were Nepeta's pride and joy and you knew from certain experiences that they were sharp as fuck. "We may be love experts, but even I know that I should befriend her first!!"

"Good luck getting past her bodyguard." You bark out a laugh and Nepeta giggles. "How are you even going to talk to her? You act like your sophomore self when you're around her."

"Hey, don't be a dick." Nepeta smacks you on the arm with a frown. "I thought we agreed to not talk about that."

"Shit, sorry." You sigh, rubbing your eyes. "Strider kept me up half the night with his stupid fucking ramblings about how he wants to ask Egbert out."

Nepeta gasps out loud, swinging her legs off the desk. Her black combat boots hit the floor with a dull thud. "Whoa, really? Well, it's about time!! How long has it been? Hold on, where's my shipping chart..."

"Jesus Christ, that old thing?" You roll your eyes. "I thought Equius made you throw it away."

"Eh, I fished it out of the trash." Nepeta shrugs. "Besides, I have to be up to date on relationships of course!" She begins to rummage around in her huge messenger bag while you groan and check your phone. 

tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering  carcinoGeneticist [CG]

Oh, _fuck_.

TT: Pardon for interrupting whatever tedious assignment art has required for you to do, but I am in need of assistance here. I need a good bet for Dave to do, and he and Jade are waiting for my response. 

TT: We've already ruled out no strifing in the hallways to John's disappointment. 

You glance over at Nepeta, who's still searching. "Rose needs a bet for Dave. Got any ideas?"

It's like the stars have come into alignment. Nepeta's universe has reached the highest point it can go. Her head whips around to stare at you, eyes huge and a smile threatening to cover her entire face. "Have Jade get a guitar for him and serenade the lunch ladies next period with whichever song he wants."

You blink. "Shit, alright."

You relay the message to Rose and nearly drop your phone when Nepeta jabs an elbow into your side, hissing, "Teacher alert!!"

With practiced ease, you slid the phone into your sleeve and look up into your teacher's eyes. "Phone, Mr. Vantas." 

"I don't fucking have it." You snap at her. 

"Oh? Then what am I about to teach this month, if you were truly paying attention to me teaching?" The teacher folds her arms. You don't even know her name, nor do you care. 

Your throat closes. You had a lot of bark and bite, but spotlight focus makes you freeze. You can feel your anxiety bubble in your stomach, but then it's calmed by a warm pink aura. You take a deep breath, feeling your heart lighten up. It tugs you towards an answer that you're certain of in your gut. "Perspective, with shading and value. The color wheel is also gonna be used a lot."

The teacher blinks and glances at Nepeta, who shrugs. "You're...you're right, Mr. Vantas. I suppose you actually were listening. Next time, do not disrupt my class." She leaves and you fist bump Nepeta under the table.

"Thanks for having my back there," you mutter, noticing the pink glow fading from Nepeta's left hand. She's breathing a little heavier than normal; using her heart powers tends to do that to her. 

For whatever godforsaken reason, you and your friends have powers. Some are easy to master; others, not so much. You're the 'Knight of Blood', but you have no idea how to even use your powers. Nepeta has the 'Rogue of Heart' class, which has her use her emotions a lot. Some come naturally, like Rose Lalonde's 'Seer of Light' or even John Egbert's 'Heir of Breath'. You're jealous and bitter over it, but whatever. It's bullshit and you hate it.

"You're welcome," she breathes. "I think the bell's about to ring."

On perfect cue, the bell system goes off and you lean down to grab your backpack, shoving your art materials inside. Nepeta takes her time, pulling on her gloves and pulling on the giant green coat Equius got her years ago. She promises that she'll grow into it one day, and today is not that day. You can tell that she's watching her leave as a small smile appears on Nepeta's face. "Wow...she's so gorgeous and elegant."

You tug Nep out of the room and sigh. "You're a fucking nerd." 

"I'm a nerd that has a _chance_ , Karkat." Nepeta grins at you. "Nevertheless, it's time for lunch and I'm starving!"

You find yourself heading down the hallways to lunch. Luckily for you, everyone's schedules split up the huge group of friends you had so you didn't have to suffer every single day. Unluckily, you didn't have Kanaya Maryam or Sollux Captor in your lunch period. A sad thing, but whatever. Pushing open the cafeteria doors, you're hit with a gust of wind and a very certain sight to behold. "Holy shit, he actually did it." 

Dave Strider is currently standing on a table with a guitar that's crackling with green electricity. He's practically yelling "ANYWAY HERE'S WONDERWALL" at the poor lunch ladies, who look shocked and a bit confused. Jade Harley's standing behind Dave with her hands glowing a bright green; she probably zapped the guitar here with her spacey powers. She looks calm and relaxed with her bright white smile and freckles. You note that even now, Jade's never really mastered how to tame the mane of hair she has. 

Rose Lalonde, with blonde hair and mysterious violet eyes, has her phone out and recording the whole thing. She's trying not to laugh as the last member of their little group (John) sits below Dave, sending wind and ruffling Dave's stark white hair back and having things fly around the room. Kids are attempting to hold onto their meals and you just sigh, sitting down across from Rose and plopping your sack lunch onto the table. "So how much money is Strider getting from this?"

"$10, plus an extra $5 if he didn't stop time for this." Rose hums. She finishes recording and nods at Jade, who waves the guitar away with a flourish of her hand. Dave groans and leaps down from the table, snatching the two bills from Rose's open hand and plopping down on Rose's other side. "Thank fucking god. I never thought it was gonna end. Yo Egbert, I'm taking you on a date after school."

John snorts, sitting next to Dave. "Give me one restaurant where you can get a good amount of food for under $20 and I'll go with you."

"McDonald's dollar menu you asshole. Shit's awesome; I'll get you whatever you want, your treat. You want large fries instead of small? Shit dude, that can be arranged." Dave nudges John's shoulder and John laughs. "Can't argue with that."

Jade lets out a dramatic sigh and sits down next to Rose, letting her hair cascade all over Rose's arms. "Roooooose, astrology is too easy." 

"That's because you know the name of every star, constellation, satellite, and galaxy out there." Rose glances at Jade and picks up another book. "Something tells me you invited someone to eat here today."

"Darn you and your stupid Seer powers," Jade grumbles. Nepeta opens her lunch and happily digs into the steak her mom packed. You raise an eyebrow at the sight. "What the fuck? Do you not eat at home??"

"Fast metabolism, Karkat!" Nepeta bares her teeth at you and you roll your eyes. "I exercise on the weekends with Equius, I gotta stay in shape."

"You're always in shape though!! You're not tiny, you have a lovely amount of muscle on your body that I would kill to have." Jade gestures to all of Nepeta. The latter blushes but responds, "Jade, you go hiking with Jake every other weekend."

"So????" Jade throws her hands into the air. "Ugh, I can't deal with this. Hey, there's the girl I invited over here!!! Hey, Feferi!!!"

Nepeta chokes on her food while Dave laughs, leaving John to check on her. You twist in your seat to see the two new kids approach your table. A rare full smile makes its appearance. This is too good, and you are going to love every second of it.

"Hello everyone!!" Feferi Peixes waves cheerfully at the table. Everyone knows she's the richest kid in school; her mom owns the Betty Crocker corporation, and Feferi lives in a mansion. You give her a quick look over; waist length brown hair, a tank with a flowing skirt, and fuchsia eyes. She has a golden circlet in her hair and fuchsia goggles around her neck. The guy standing next to her is her moirail Eridan Ampora. You've heard he's an asshole and he certainly looks the part; with a sweater like yours, a blue and black scarf, and violet eyes framed by glasses, he looks like a douche. He even dyed a part of his black hair violet. 

"Hello Fef!!" Jade greets. "I'm glad you made it! This is Rose, that's Dave, next to him is John, across from Rose is Karkat, and next to him is Nepeta!!" 

"It's very nice to meet you all!" Feferi smiles. She's short and a bit chubby. You already know that Nepeta has heart eyes. "I met Jade in astrology and she invited me to sit here today!! Eridan's just tagging along."

"Sup Fef," Dave nods at her. You mumble a hello along with everyone else and you turn back to Nepeta, who's bright red and staring at her food. "Say hello you fucking idiot, she's going to think you're weird or some shit."

Nepeta coughs and looks up, smiling brightly at Feferi. "Hi! I'm Nepeta Leijon."

Seeing the spot open, Feferi heads to it with Eridan right behind. "I'm Feferi Peixes!! Though I'm pretty sure you already knew that, heh."

As the two make conversation, you turn back to see the beta kids looking at you with huge smiles. You grin and tilt your head at the two of them talking. "Looks like your plan worked, Jade."

"Oh, Karkat?" Rose looks at you from across the table. "You're definitely going to lose that bet."

Oh fuck. 

It's going to be a very long year.


	2. who the hell has heartfelt conversations on the dance floor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's gonna be events between Nepeta and Feferi on special days coming up in the story, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc. that's how it'll progress!!
> 
> and perhaps even Eridan...
> 
>  
> 
> (also Dave and Nepeta's song is Cooler Than You by Mike Posner. they're best friends!!)

Your name is Nepeta Leijon, and tonight's Homecoming.

You can at least allow yourself to dress up and wear something else for a change. To your friend Kanaya's excitement, you even allowed her to help with the dress and let your makeup go to Rose. Right now, you're seated in Kanaya's house in her bedroom at the vanity mirror, trying not to flinch at the mascara brush coming dangerously close to your eye. "Is this really necessary? You already have lipgloss on me."

"Hush dear," Kanaya commands. "You've given me permission to at least doll you up tonight and I am taking that opportunity. Luckily for you, the dress I bought is a slip on and we don't have to mess up your hair."

You grumble quietly as you lock eyes with Jade, who's sitting next to you on Kanaya's bed. She's fidgeting in her ruffly blue dress; you're not sure how it works, but if Kanaya hasn't said anything, then you're positive that it's alright. "How much longer until the boys come?"

"It'll be another twenty minutes at least, they always wait till the last minute." Jade sighs and sneakily tries to grab a piece of her long straightened hair; without missing a beat, Rose smacks her hand away. "I spent a very long time working on your hair, and I will _not_ have you mess it up."

"Jeez, sorry." Jade looks at her with a pout. Rose looks lovely in her deep purple dress, having it show off her figure before letting it flow to the ground. As usual, her black lipstick is perfect and the rest of her makeup is spotless. Kanaya has a simple jade green dress on with her short black hair curled to perfection. 

Rose and Kanaya were heading together, Jade was hitching a ride with John and Dave, and Karkat was taking you. The two of you agreed to go as friends so you could see if Feferi indeed kept her promise and also went. You feel yourself smile at the thought of her. When she first arrived at the school, you could at least acknowledge that she was gorgeous. She radiated happiness and laughter and wow, you were attracted. Thanks to Jade, you got to know her better and sooner or later, she was picking you up and taking you to school much to Eridan's disappointment. 

Eridan...

Your lips curl into a snarl and Jade laughs, snapping you out of your daydream. "Thinking about you-know-who?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, maybe." You turn your head away, face burning. "It's just...ugh, I can't even describe it!!"

"Gossiping about boys and girls? Let's see, the subject of today is Nepeta Leijon and her obvious black crush on Eridan Ampora." Rose smiles at you and you groan under your breath. "I _don't_ have a crush on him!! He's annoying and gross and I'm really tempted to fight him!!"

"Can you admit that he's smart?" Kanaya raises an eyebrow, handing you a green dress that sparkled in the fairy lights in Kanaya's room. You hiss at the thought of him. "Yeah, he's smart. He's just sneaky and slimy and ARGH!!!"

"To a certain extent, can you respect him?" Rose asks, glancing at Jade who's grinning.

"I guess so!! But that doesn't mean I like him!!" You cross your arms, frowning as you snatch the dress and storm off to change. 

You stare at yourself in the mirror in the bathroom; your curly hair is exaggerated even more, and your green eyes practically glow. You change quickly and slip on a pair of silver flats, joining the others. Jade has a pair of heels on and impresses you to no end. 

Rose is texting away, her wavy blonde hair cropped close to her neck. She smiles once and locks her phone, letting it drop into her clutch. "They're here. Shall I alert your mother to get the camera out, dear?"

"Don't bother," Kanaya mutters. "She's had the camera out for a while."

Jade shoots up from the bed with a grin. "My butt was getting numb!! Let's go see them!!"

Downstairs, you can hear Ms. Maryam greeting the boys. "Hello dears! Karkat, you look dashing in that tux!! The girls are upstairs, shall I call for them? Oh, just let me take a picture of the three of you!"

"No Mother, we're on our way down." Kanaya calls out. She offers Rose her arm, who gladly accepts and the two of them descend down the stairs. You hear Dave wolf whistle and John clap a few times to the laughter of you and Jade.

"Let's go Nep!" Jade says cheerfully. The two of you lock arms as well and you head down the stairs. The first thing that catches your eye is Karkat staring at you with his eyes wide. The second thing is the bright white limo outside Kanaya's house. _Did we rent a limo?? I don't think any of us are rich enough to even get one..._

"Damn Nep, you look good." Dave tips his shades at you and you snort, smiling widely at everyone. "Thank you!! You look dashing yourself Dave; save me a dance?"

"Of course babe." Dave winks at you and you laugh, heading over to Karkat. "Hey, did we rent a limo?"

"What? No?? What the fuck? Hold on." Karkat turns around and heads to the front door, leaving you standing next to John. 

"So," you purr, waggling your eyebrows at him. "Any news on your crush?"

"Shh!!!" John shushes you, frantically checking if anyone heard. "He's right there!! And not really, he fell asleep at my house the other day on a school night and we cuddled and that's the most we've done so far."

"Hm," you ponder this. "Have you ever considered that he likes you back?"

"I dunno, honestly. I thought he and Terezi were still a thing, and then there was that weird issue going on with him and Karkat, so I have no idea." John shrugs. "But I have a foolproof plan!! I'm going to confess to him at the New Year's party!"

You shake your head with a smile. "John, that's over two months away. Do you really have to plan that out in advance?"

"...Yeah." John scratches the back of his head. "But I'm gonna do it, Nep!! By the beginning of next year, you can update your shipping chart and confirm it!!"

"What's this about ships?" Dave slides his arm around John's shoulder and the latter squeaks. You try not to laugh at John's extremely red face. "I thought we agreed you'd fill me in, Nep. What the hell? I thought we had something special. Was I just your side hoe after all this time? I thought we loved each other for who we were on the inside."

You grin, cheeks red and you catch John mouthing, _oh my god please don't say it I know you love me too._

"Alas, my heart belongs to Feferi." You twirl around, your dress spinning in circles as you swoon. "The sweetest, kindest girl with the most beautiful eyes. I'll swim in the ocean just for her!!"

"Does that mean you're going to be the princess's huntress?" Jade joins in. "Aww, that'd be so sweet!! Even better, Nepeta has a black crush on Eridan!"

Your mouth drops open while everyone in the room hollers "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!!"

"I do not!!! I thought we established that I don't!!!" You hiss at Jade, who smirks at you. "I dunno Nep, it seems really obvious to me!!"

You're interrupted by Karkat, who returns with an annoyed expression. "Alright fuckers, let's go pile into the giant ass limo the heiress herself got us just for tonight. I don't know which one of you did this, but everyone's gonna be staring at us when we go back to the gym and I'm not going to fucking like it."

You gasp and run to the front door, throwing it open with John on your heels. "What?!"

Sure enough, Feferi herself is waving from the inside of the limo. Her dress is a giant lilac cotton ball; you can barely see her face from your position. Eridan's standing next to the limo door looking pissed.

"Oh wow!!" John breathes out. "This is awesome!!!"

You find yourself approaching the limo in awe. "Hello Nepeta!!" Feferi giggles from inside. "I hope you guys don't mind me showing up with a ride to Homecoming!!"

"No way!!! This is incredible!!" You smile back at Fef. "Mind if we get in?"

"Duh," Feferi rolls her eyes. "That's the point of a limo, right? C'mon!! The night's only started and we have a lot more to go!!"

You grin and rush back into the house, taking the fastest photos you've ever taken in your whole life. Ms. Maryam waves everyone goodbye as you head back to the limo, pausing for only a second to retaliate to Eridan's sneer by sticking out your tongue. 

You pile in and claim the spot next to Feferi. Karkat sits next to you, then sits Jade, John, Dave, Rose, Kanaya, and then Eridan. The limo itself is gorgeous; a radio behind you sends vibrations shaking the car. Various drinks line the wall along with shot glasses. A metal pole stands in the middle of the floor. "How'd you get this limo?" Jade asks, glancing at the vodka. The limo starts up and drives off, leaving everyone attempting to buckle in their seat belts. 

Feferi blushes. "Well, my mom's away on business as usual, so I asked Eridan's dad!! He rented a limo for me before he went back to work. It's ours until tomorrow morning."

Dave blows her a kiss. "You are a queen, it is you. Are these drinks free? Is that stripper pole open? Both are calling my name. I've waited so long to show off my amazing skills, I feel like it's been years since I had this opportunity. Lalonde, how long has it been?"

"It's been a month and a half, Dave. You dragged Jade and John with us to the nearest strip club where you proceeded to get drunk and passed out on the dance floor. I had to pretend you were still awake to not raise suspicions in the crowd while John had to go get the car, the same car Jade had also passed out in." Rose responds without missing a beat. "That's why we had to go back to Roxy's so she wouldn't tell Jake or Dirk or even worse, Jane." 

Everyone bursts out laughing while John sighs. "It didn't even matter, Jane had her amazing detective skills on the case and figured out where we were. AKA Dave FaceTimed her at the club asking if he could have a cooking lesson at two in the morning."

Dave groans. "Aw damn dude, sorry bout that. How _ever_ could I make it up to you?"

Without warning, Dave jumps up from his seat and heads to the stripper pole. You gasp and Karkat groans. "Oh my fucking god, please don't tell me we're about to see this."

"Would _this_ make you feel better, Egbert?" Dave grabs the pole, swinging his body around. Rose and Kanaya have put their heads in their hands while Jade cheers, already filming. Feferi can't stop laughing and even Eridan is struggling to hide his smile. 

"Or maybe my plush rump would help?" Dave waggles his eyebrows over his shades. John's face is bright red and you're giggling at the sight. "Hey Nep, what do you think would get my brownie points back up again?"

Everyone in the limo turns to you with wide eyes. You close your eyes for a split second; you can feel your powers humming in your chest, but tonight, you don't even have to use them. You already have the answer in your heart. "A lap dance, of course."

"YES!!" Jade howls, pumping her fist into the air. Karkat screeches as Dave lets go of the pole and sways his hips back and forth, strutting back to John. "That is an _excellent_ idea!!"

Holy shit this is incredible. Will your ship get together before New Year's??? Could this actually happen????

John's staring at Dave with his mouth open. Dave juts his hips forward and turns around, gyrating dangerously close to John's lap. "Holy fuck, I can't believe this is happening." Karkat whispers in your ear. "I will flip my shit if they get together by tonight. Do you hear me Nepeta Leijon? My shit will be flipped. It will be fucking EVERYWHERE."

Feferi leans over to your other ear with a giggle. "I'm so glad I'm friends with all of you!! This is so much fun!!"

"They're flirting with each other and it's going great!!" You whisper back, not keeping your eyes off of Dave's movements. They're slowly becoming awkward; he's getting flustered by John's gaze, which is staring right into his shades. You have to diffuse this before it becomes unbearable!!!

"Drinks for everyone!!" You holler, and Dave gives you a relieved look as he pinches John's cheek and flashsteps off to grab some beer. 

The moment Jade drags Karkat away to help her with glasses, John scoots all the way over to you. "Oh my god, Nep!! Why in the world would you suggest a lap dance?! I mean, it was pretty great, and I think I'd like for him to do it again, but _STILL_!!!! My heart's still racing from that!!!" He hisses at you, eyes wide and heart stuttering. 

It only takes you a second to focus on Dave's heartbeat. It's thudding loud and fast, and you can feel Dave's love for John clogging up the former's throat. It's thick, it's real, and the intensity of it makes your own heart skip a beat. You turn back to John, who's staring at you. You give him a flash of your fangs and grin. "For the record, so is his."

The rest of the limo ride goes somewhat smoothly, if you don't count the loud singing from you, Karkat, and Jade with the classic _Don't Stop Believin'_. It's met with a round of applause and the three of you bow.

When everyone arrives at Homecoming, Eridan's the first out of the car. "We're finally fuckin' here." He grumbles, casting a glance at Feferi and you. You stopped right outside the limo to offer Feferi your hand; she gladly takes it, and you grin at Eridan while walking by him.

Tickets are given, punch is served, and the music is loud and shakes the room with its bass. Half your group has already hit the dance floor while you simply wait it out on the sidelines with Aradia Medigo, a friend from your history class. Her simple black and gray dress somehow works with her dark red hair and you have to admire her for it. "The DJ is actually decent this time." Aradia takes a sip of her punch. "Any idea who it is?"

"I heard rumors it's Dave's older brother Dirk, but I haven't checked yet." You shrug, spotting your other friend Terezi Pyrope weave in and out of the crowd. "I'd bet money that she and Vriska are up to no good, I just saw them head to the bathroom."

Aradia snorts and looks at you with a kind smile. "Sorry to bother you with this, but has Equius come?"

"My moirail? Nah, he's not one for crowds like this." You down the rest of your punch and toss the cup into the trash can. "But if you wanted to go see him, I recommend showing up at his house with poetry. Does a certain person have red feelings for him, hm?" 

Aradia grins. "Maybe!! I'm interested. He's kind, smart, has great taste in art, and he could be a bit nicer if he wasn't so..."

"Uptight about the whole 'hemospectrum' thing, right?" You sigh. "We've been working on that for a while now. If he's friends with you and moirails with me, then how could he still be so dedicated to it? Equius still refuses to listen to me on that though. He's treating Feferi like she's a princess or something."

"Technically speaking, she _is_ a princess." Aradia points out. "Speaking of her, how's your crush going?"

"It's going alright so far!!" You scratch nervously at your wrists, where your gloves normally are. Being without them makes you feel a bit scared, considering the last time you didn't have them in a serious situation, you were a lot more than scared. But you digress; that was in the past, things change, and you were still terrified of going to the circus. 

"I talk to Feferi at least daily, and she sometimes drives me home after school when I don't have track practice!! She's joining the swim team in the spring so she's not busy yet." You scratch the back of your head, a bit sheepish. "I've been over to her house a few times and _wow_ , she is really rich. It's huge, Aradia!! She has gardens and long hallways and so many bedrooms and a giant kitchen!! But living in a house that big can make someone really lonely, and if you've known something like Ampora for a long time, I'd want to meet new people too." You cross your arms, catching sight of Karkat lightly dancing with Kanaya.

Aradia smiles. "I'm glad you and her are pretty compatible like that." She follows your gaze to Karkat, and her eyes soften. "Everything...going alright?"

You tense up and Aradia immediately backs off. "I'm sorry Nepeta, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, no! It's alright!!" You hold your hands up quickly. "That was two years ago. It's over and done. I've moved on and so has he."

Aradia's still hesitant, and you know she's reliving sophomore year as well. "Alright then. I don't know if you know this, but I know that Karkat still blames himself for it. He lives close to me and I hear him talking to himself when he heads to the old playground at the park whenever I walk around."

You're dimly aware that your hands are shaking. "I told him not to blame himself. It wasn't his fault for what the clown did. If it's alright, can we move on from that subject? I don't have my claws and it's getting me a little riled up."

"Of course." Aradia murmurs, and manages to give you a side smile. "Look who's headed your way."

You're expecting Karkat or even Feferi, but to your surprise it's Eridan who approaches. He looks slightly uncomfortable and it makes you feel a bit better. "Fef says I'm obligated to owe you one dance, so here I fuckin' am. Please for the love of god say no so I can go on with my life."

You grin and manage to calm your stuttering heart. "Since you said that, I'm thinking nah. C'mon asshole, let's go dance!!"

You wave goodbye to Aradia and let Eridan lead you to the dance floor. He puts one hand on your hip and sighs to himself as he offers his other hand to your own. You interlock fingers and place your right hand on his shoulder, eyes fluttering shut as the music flows through your chest. 

"Looks like a pretty serious conversation you were having with Aradia there," Eridan says casually, breaking you out of your trance. "Mind telling me what it was?"

"And why the hell would I do that?" You raise an eyebrow, letting Eridan take the lead as he turns you. Eridan snorts. "I don't fuckin' know, I guess I'm trying to make conversation with you."

You pause at that. "Well shit, I can't argue with that. She was asking if things between Karkat and I were okay, considering they weren't about a year ago."

Eridan gives you a curious glance. "Why's that? And don't yell at me for not knowing the juicy details, no one in this damn school likes to gossip anythin' about the past around here."

"It's for a certain reason, honestly. And don't expect me to tell you all of it, alright?" You glare at him, and he sputters. "Shit, alright!! Spill, cat girl."

Eridan takes the opportunity to dip you while you compose yourself. "Well, I had a crush on Karkat from 7th grade all the way to the end of 8th grade. He asked me out a month before freshman year started. We dated all the way until sophomore year, when we broke up because of...reasons. Something went wrong with Karkat's past moirail, and, uh, my moirail and I ended up hurt. Karkat didn't do a lot about it and didn't talk to me from the middle of sophomore year to the beginning of junior year, which made it really awkward between us. A few of our friends intervened for us and got him and I talking again, and we stayed as friends. Good enough for you?"

"Well shit Nep, unload three fuckin' years of issues on me." Eridan grumbles but you can tell his features have softened as well. "But, uh, are you alright?"

"I guess, since I've had a year to get over it." You shrug and nearly step on Eridan's shoe on accident. 

Eridan scoffs. "Bullshit. Sometimes it takes years to get over shit. I'm about to make you an offer Leijon. If you ever need to vent, I'm free if you ever need to...y'know, let off some steam."

You squint at Eridan, eyes narrowing as you process his words. "You askin' me out, Ampora? In the black quadrant?"

Eridan gives you a toothy grin, which you return as you snarl at him. "And if I am?"

"Gotta catch me first, Ampora." You lean forward and kiss him on the cheek, immediately ruining it by biting him. Eridan yelps as you grin and rush off into the crowd. _Oh jeez, I guess I_ am _black for Ampora...well, this should be fun!!_

You get lost in your train of thought and immediately smack into someone. "Whoa babe, you good?" You giggle and look up into Dave Strider's pure black shades. "You were running like you had the feds on your ass. Got someone after you? I got a few places you can hide if you need." Dave shrugs, ruffling his stark white hair.

"Wow, okay." You laugh, checking to see if Eridan actually went after you. "I'm good, Dave!! Hey, don't you owe me a dance?"

"You right," Dave nods at you. He looks up to the DJ booth, and gives a thumbs up. You note that the man has triangular glasses and spiky golden hair; Dirk, of course. You wave at him and Dirk smiles back. 

A familiar beat starts to drift out of the speakers, leaving you to gasp and Dave to laugh. "I can't believe you!! This song, really?"

"I guess you can say I'm Cooler Than You," Dave takes your hand and spins you around, making you laugh. Somehow, Jade and John have caught wind of what's going on and John uses his wind powers to clear space around the two of you. Pretty soon, a crowd starts to form as you and Dave dance in circles. You know for a fact that you and Dave will always be platonic; you hold no romantic feelings for him and he feels the same way. It's just so much fun hanging out with him!!

Pretty soon, the song ends and everyone applauds. Dave bows and twirls you into someone's arms; still grinning, you look up into Karkat's deep red eyes. "Hey Nep," he mumbles. "Can we talk?"

Your eyes widen. _Oh no. Aradia was right, damn it!!_ "...Sure, Karkat."

He leads you to the far corner of the gym. You subconsciously smooth down your dress and look slightly up at Karkat. "Is something wrong?" 

Karkat runs a hand through his hair, eyes wide. You can feel his heart starting to increase and with a gentle pat, you soothe his emotions. Your hand glows faintly pink and fades out; Karkat mutters a quiet thank you. "Nepeta, I know Aradia talked to you earlier. She's completely right about what happened two years ago. I was a fucking idiot!! I wasn't even aware of what Gam--"

"Please don't say his name," you mutter through clenched teeth. "Please don't."

Karkat blinks, apologizes, and continues. "He wouldn't say what he fucking did until I had Tavros get him drunk off his ass. Getting high is one thing, but drunk is another. I felt bad for Tav, but fuck, I _had_ to know!! And...to you and Equius... _fuck_ , Nepeta, how could you NOT hate me??? I didn't talk to you for the longest time because I couldn't handle the fact that my own moirail had done that to my former matesprit!!! FUCK!!!"

He's breathing heavily and you're shaking. "I got over it. It was years ago and I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Karkat challenges you. "What about these, huh?"

He pulls a pair of gloves out of his pocket and you snatch them immediately, slipping them on and breathing a sigh of relief. Something relaxes in your body and you look back up at Karkat. "My gloves are essential to me, alright?"

"Because that's one of the only fucking ways you survived," Karkat snaps at you. "Nepeta, you nearly DIED that night!! You don't talk to anyone about it!!"

"Well no shit," you growl back, crossing your arms. "I'd rather not talk about that, okay? Why now? Why are you bringing this up now?"

Karkat opens his mouth but gets cut off by a small, "Nepeta? Karkat?"

You whirl around to see Feferi staring at you. It suddenly occurs to you that you're still shaking and you have tears in your eyes. "Oh!! Hi, Fef."

Feferi purses her lips and looks at Karkat, uncertain. "I'll take her, if you don't mind." The latter says nothing as she reaches forward and grasps your hand, escorting you outside of the gym.

"Are you alright?" Feferi asks, fuchsia eyes impossibly wide as she looks up at you. Even in her heels, she's so short and you still manage to have a few inches on her. You choke out a laugh. "Yeah, as good as I can be. How'd you know I was with Karkat?"

"Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to dance with me!!" Feferi twists a curl of her hair around her finger with a small smile, averting her eyes and then looking back up at you. "But I saw you get pulled off the floor by him, and I figured it was important because..."

She stops, and you furrow your eyebrows as she bites the inside of her cheek. "Because what?"

"Um, I heard you have heart powers? Well, I have life powers passed on from my mom. I can see the expansion of someone's life...or if it was nearly cut short..." Feferi's voice is impossibly soft and you take a shuddering breath. "Yeah."

"I don't want to pry if you're not ready." Feferi shakes her head. "But I'm here for you, Nepeta. You're one of my best friends."

You smile at that. Progress, at least. But right now, you're not courting Feferi Peixes. You're her best friend, and damn it, you're going to enjoy tonight with her and your friends.


	3. having a halloween party in a mansion is a great idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm having fun with what happened sophomore year to our darling nepeta
> 
> trust me, it's coming up. ;)
> 
> my tumblr is the same as this username!! 'derseroyalty'.

Your name is...

Oh, hold on!! Someone's pestering you. 

caligulasAquarium [CA]  began pestering  cuttlefishCuller [CC] 

CA: fef

CA: fef is today still on

CC: )(---E--ELLOO ---ERIDAN!!

CC: Of COURS---E IT'S STILL ON!!! 38))

CA: okay so wwhat's got you excited today

CC: Mom's out of tuna for the W--E--EK!!!

CA: ...tuna?

CC: Town. 38(

CA: oh

CA: shit sorry

CC: Anyways!!!! Was t)(at all you needed, ---Eridan??

CA: uh

CA: i think so

CA: i'll sea you later then

CC: Okay!!! I'll SEA you later t)(en!!! 38)))))

caligulasAquarium [CA]  ceased pestering  cuttlefishCuller [CC] 

Your name is Feferi Peixes, and you are SO ---EXCIT---ED for tonight!!!

It's Halloween!!! You volunteered to let your friends use your house for a meet up and a wonderful night of trick or treating!! (Mostly treating though, heehee.) It's a LOV--ELY Saturday afternoon and you're getting ready for the party!!! You decided to dress up as a queen with even more jewelry and and more power!!! 

(Even though you don't really NEED more power...you don't like to flaunt it, you know for a fact that you're more privileged than your friends, and it makes you sad. That's why you like to help them out if you wanted or needed to!!)

Luckily for you, the first friend of yours that would be coming over was Aradia!! She was a sweetheart and really loved this holiday, so you enlisted her help to decorate the house!! Speaking of her, there's your doorbell going off! The chimes echo through the house and you rush to the door, throwing it open. "Hello Aradia!! Oh, and Sollux too!!"

Sollux Captor nods at you, holding onto Aradia's arm. Multiple boxes of Halloween decorations trail behind the two, floating in the air. According to Aradia, and she and Sollux have some levitation powers and use those throughout their day. This is completely obvious due to the floating boxes.

"Hello, Feferi." Aradia grins at you. She looks really hyped up; considering she's already dressed in a witch's outfit and has a huge pumpkin for the treats, you're pretty sure you made the right decision to invite her first. "I brought all my stuff with me. Is it alright if I can get started already?? You two can relax for right now, I can get this on my own for a bit!! I'll call Sollux if I need any help."

"Sure, Aradia!! Have fun!!" You wave her off, leaving you with Sollux. He has his usual red and blue glasses on and constantly has his phone out. You wonder how it never runs out of battery. "How are you, Sollux?"

He shrugs, briefly checking his phone. "I'm alright. AA's excited as hell for this holiday, if you couldn't tell. She goes all out and no one can really stop her."

You giggle, waving your hand around your house. "Well she's welcome to do whatever she wants!! Mom doesn't do anything for any holiday, so this is my first Halloween since I was a kid!!"

Sollux squints at you. "You're kidding, right?"

You grin. "Nope. Do you know what time everyone's coming over?"

With a sigh, Sollux recites, "KK will be here in half an hour with NP and KA, TZ and VS another hour, and that's all I really care about. Is ED coming?"

"Yep!! He'll be here soon." You think of your moirail, and try to squash down the thoughts you have about him. They're...not the best...but you have to stay positive about it. He's the only person who knows you well enough even with your weird life powers and his hope ones. The only other person you've ever told about those was Nepeta, and she...

You swallow. It takes a lot out of you, but you had to do it. You briefly remember having your hand glow a light brown and Nepeta's timeline appeared above her head. As fast as you could, you skimmed it, eyes widening as you saw a cut in the stream. With shaking hands, you extinguished the glow and tears welled in your eyes. Nepeta's timeline was...

Nearly broken. 

Something had happened to her in the past.

You promised yourself you wouldn't pry, and yet...

"Fef? You alright?" Sollux raises an eyebrow at you. You look down and realize that your hand is glowing brown. You're shaking and your heart is pounding. "I...yeah!! Yep!! Everything's good!!"

You're obviously lying. Sollux obviously knows this. 

And yet he drops it for you. He nods once, walking past you and patting you on the shoulder. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you, okay?"

You resist the urge to lean into his pat and you force a smile. "Thank you, Sollux!!!"

Your doorbell goes off again and you turn away to answer it, glancing at Sollux who's joined Aradia again. "Hello?"

"Hey Fef," Eridan's completely decked out in wizard clothing, and he even has a wand and a hat. Oh jeez. "Am I late? Don't tell me I'm late. I spent so long working on my costume, I even asked Kan if she could make my cape. Does it look good? You look good too, are you a queen? Well, you're already a queen, but, um..."

You grit your teeth but smile anyways. "Aradia's setting up the decorations. Sollux is with her as well. Can you go help?"

Eridan blinks, eyes narrowing beneath his glasses. "Help him? And why would I do that?"

"Because then you'd be on Aradia's bad side, and she'd tell Nepeta." You shrug, turning back around. 

You hear Eridan gasp out loud and you rejoin Aradia. Her telekinesis has Halloween decorations surrounded by a dark red mist, pumpkins and ghosts and bats flying everywhere. Your living room, kitchen, staircase, and plenty more rooms in your house are already covered. "Wow, Aradia!! This is gorgeous!!! You really know how to party." 

"Of course!! The spirits are pleased as well." Aradia smiles at you. "Tonight is when they're the strongest."

You try not to grimace and perk up when the doorbell rings once more. "Oh!! More people!!"

Gathering up your flowing dress, you rush to the door and see Karkat, Nepeta, and Kanaya enter in various costumes. "Hey everyone!!!" You greet them. "Kanaya, where's Rose?"

The taller girl (who's dressed as a werewolf) sighs and grumbles quietly, "She stayed with John, Dave, and Jade. The four of them are up to something and I have no idea what it is."

Karkat snorts, crossing his arms. He has a simple white sheet in his hands and you can already see the cut-out holes for his eyes on the fabric. "Knowing those fucking idiots they're gonna go prank people or TP someone's house. I'm betting on it being Egbert or Harley."

Nepeta on the other hand has scales and fins on her face and a long tail that trails behind her. Seashells clutter the gorgeous blue dress she wears, and a crown that reminds you of the ocean perches lightly on her curly hair. She smiles at you, and your heart stutters once. "Hey, Feferi!! How are you?"

"I'm good!" You catch your breath. "Are you a mermaid queen?"

Nepeta's smile widens and you can see the tip of her fangs poke out from her dark blue lips. You're betting that Kanaya did her makeup. "Yeah!! I think the ocean looks good on me!"

You quietly agree with her. Nepeta eyes your own costume. "You're a queen of..."

"Just a regular queen!!" You quickly assure her. "Nothing really special."

"If the great Feferi Peixes is a queen, she better be fucking important." Karkat proclaims. "Queen of what?"

"Queen of Life?" Nepeta suggests, a glint in her eye. "That could work."

"Ahem!" Aradia coughs, startling everyone. "I finished the living room!! It's getting dark soon, should we go without Terezi and Vriska?"

"I would." Kanaya glances at her phone. "They are perfectly okay handling themselves. Nepeta, can you be a dear and go check on Rose? Karkat refuses to let me leave his side, he’s certain that I’m a good luck charm or such."

“Rose’s magic makes her immune to pranks,” Karkat mutters. You stifle a giggle.

"Of course, Kanaya." Nepeta grabs her keys and heads outside. You have an urge to follow her. You try to resist but alas, you can't. "Can I go with you?"

Nepeta raises an eyebrow but then grins. “Sure!!”

Waving goodbye to everyone else, you gather up your dress and abscond to Nepeta’s car. You attempt to shove your poofy dress inside without it getting slammed in the door. You finally succeed and buckle your seat belt, turning to look at Nepeta. “Where to now?”

Nepeta tries not to laugh as she turns the ignition on and drives down the street, turning out of your neighborhood and heading towards the high school. “Dave’s house! Those four usually hang out at someone’s house, and it might be Dave’s this year.”

Nepeta turns into a smaller neighborhood and coasts down the street, humming to herself and turning up the music. The sun’s starting to go down; you sigh to yourself and look out the window, jolting when Nepeta comes to a stop. “Wait here real quick! I’ll be right back.”

You watch as she gets out of the car and marches up to a large house; adjusting her crown, she knocks determinedly on the door. Dave’s older brother–Dirk?–answers and they have a quick conversation. Several seconds later, Nepeta joins you again in the car.

“Well?” You prompt, curious at her grinning reaction. 

“Yeah, they’re all at Jade’s house. They’re gonna head around the neighborhood and get candy.” Nepeta laughs, turning on the engine and heading back to your house. 

Your phone buzzes and you take a glance.

grimAuxillatrix [GA] began pestering  cuttlefishCuller [CC] 

GA: Pardon Me Feferi But I Believe We Are About To Embark Upon Trick Or Treating

GA: Aradia Has Finished Putting Up All The Decorations In Your House

GA: She’s Quite Pleased With The Result

CC: O)( t)(at’s WOND---ERFUL!!!

CC: Nepeta and I are on our way!! 38)

GA: Was Everything Alright With Rose

CC: Y--EP! She’s wit)( everyone else at Jade’s )(ouse!! 

GA: Thank You

GA: See You Soon

grimAuxillatrix [GA] ceased pestering  cuttlefishCuller [CC] 

Nepeta pulls into your driveway and helps you down from the other side, grinning as everyone’s exiting the house to join the two of you.

“Where to first?” Nepeta adjusts her crown once more. Aradia’s smile is terrifying as she pulls a map out of nowhere; from your angle, you can see multiple X’s and scribbling on the map.

You lean over to Sollux, who leans over to you as well. “Is she always like this with Halloween?”

“Yep.” Sollux takes a swig of apple juice; where’d he even get that?? Do you even have apple juice??? “She starts planning on the first day of October and it pretty much cascades from there. Pretty impressive, but sometimes she can go a bit over the top.”

“I sea.” You giggle, trying not to lean into Sollux’s touch as he pats you. You’re pale as hell for him and _ugh_ , it’s KRILLING YOU!!

You feel bad for Eridan though. You care for him dearly but you honestly don’t want to be moirails anymore. It’s a bit…much.

You also think you’re starting to lean red towards Nepeta Leijon.

You catch sigh of her as she laughs at a joke Kanaya makes. She throws her head back and wheezes, nearly knocking Karkat over as she stumbles. 

You don’t know the deal between her, Karkat, her moirail Equius (who you have yet to meet), and the mysterious stranger that was constant in her timeline.

You’re going to get to the bottom of it one day.

Nepeta catches your eye and grins, sharp fangs glinting and looking every bit as regal as a mermaid queen. 

You think about how kind she is, how gentle and fierce and smart and hilarious, and you can’t stop smiling for the rest of the night.

Definitely red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> karkat gets the most candy during the night  
> kanaya and sollux fight for it lmao
> 
> I have another Homestuck story in the making already smh


	4. why do we all have issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been too long since I've uploaded, so i just broke this chapter up into two parts!! enjoy!!

Your name is Nepeta Leijon, and tomorrow's Thanksgiving!!

You love this holiday with all your heart. You get to spend time with your mom and it's become a tradition to head over to Rose and Roxy's house and serve all of your friends!! Full of turkey and stuffing and desserts and wow, you already made yourself hungry.

According to your clock, it's 7 PM. Your mom's in the kitchen making the turkey using the meat you and her got from your last hunting trip. Your gorgeous cat Pounce de Leon sits next to you in the living room, fluffy tail curled over her paws. Everything is awesome and you're pretty content.

That is, until your phone rings.

You frown immediately. 

See, there's an issue with nearly everyone's family during holidays. Some of you don't have proper...parents, really. Some parents have passed away. Some of your friends leave and go to see them, which is perfectly okay!! But...

A lot of your friends are pretty sad on holidays.

In middle school, a pact was formed. Your mother was always supportive and always cared for everyone, so she vowed to have all of your friends eat with you two for any holiday they wanted. Everyone cried, your mom kept her word, and you always had everyone over if they wanted to.

This is one of those times.

Your phone screen shows a grinning face with shades, and you're already guessing what he's going to ask as you answer the call. "Hello?"

_"Sup Nep. Whatcha doin?"_

You try to fake a smile but fail. "What's going on, Strider?"

 _"Oh you know, the usual. Doin absolutely nothing at all. Just chillin at the mall, shopping at Hot Topic, trying to see if they have that black nail polish I love so much."_ Dave rambles out. 

You pinch your nose and sigh, getting up to grab your keys. "I'm on my way. If you wanna drive back to your house, I can pick you up from there."

 _"Sounds fucking peachy. I got two special guests with me, aight? I'll be at my house."_ Dave hangs up and you pocket your phone, heading into the kitchen to kiss your mom on the cheek.

"Dave's having trouble again. He said he has two friends with him; is it okay if I bring them back here?" You ask your mom, smiling as she nods eagerly. 

"Of course!! There's always been no trouble my darling Nepeta. I have plenty of food and you have plenty of friends!!" Your mom waves you off. "Now go, and make sure they're wearing coats! It's getting cold out."

"Yes ma'am," you salute, heading out the door. "Love you! Be back soon."

You pull out of the driveway and cruise down the street to Dave's. The Striders always have issues with being around each other; Dirk and Dave, even though they're brothers, tend to be distant. It's obvious that their Bro has something to do with it, but they've never said a word about it. Rose has confided in you that Bro is very distant and made the two younger Striders the way they were.

You notice the similarities with Rose and Roxy's Mom. 

Every year, without fail, Dave goes over to your house a day early. You and your mom have never minded. It just makes you sad to think about. Despite all the fun you have with your friends, the only reason all of you strive to do hilarious things is because your childhoods and lives weren't that great.

You still have nightmares about...it. Dave has abandonment and loneliness issues. Rose resorted to alcohol when she was feeling like shit, which was often. Jade and John tended to be alone when they felt off. Karkat felt like he didn't really have a family. Your aspects, even if rarely talked about, increase those issues even more so.

Dave always knows what time it is. He constantly heard ticks in his head. Rose tipped into darkness very easily and made her powers slightly off. Jade could feel the emptiness of space; John always felt like he was going to disappear into the breeze.

You knew for a fact that you were destined for heartbreak. It's inevitable. 

You decide to move on from that subject. Everyone hates to think about it and so do you.

Arriving at Dave's, you get down and march to his door, knocking with a determined fist. There's...a familiar car in his driveway...

You furrow your eyebrows as the door opens. To your shock, you see none other than Eridan Ampora looking back at you. "Nep?"

"Eri?" You gasp, taking a step back. Eridan blinks in surprise and opens the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise." Dave appears behind him, mouth in a thin line. His shades are nowhere to be seen. He drags you in, closing the door behind you. Eridan and Feferi Peixes stare at you. Dave lets out a shaky breath, ruffling his stark white hair back. Your claws slowly unsheathe at the faint scratches on Dave's arm. "Sorry. Ran into them and struck up a conversation. Turns out we both have shitty families."

You turn sharply to Feferi and Eridan, who look ashamed. "What?"

"They have nowhere to go." Dave flashsteps into his small kitchen; you clench your jaw at all the shitty swords scattered everywhere. He returns with a suitcase probably packed with clothes. "Let's get out of here. I'll get your stuff Eridan."

You grab Feferi's things (very pink and sparkly, you might add) and drag them to your car, trying to keep the tears out of your eyes. Dave follows behind and you swing everything into the back. You furiously point at the backseat and get into the driver's seat, tapping your claws against the steering wheel. Everyone's quiet as they get in; your tires squeal against the pavement as you reverse and leave.

You're nearly at your house before Dave reaches over and puts a hand on yours. The car jerks to a stop and you put on the parking break, inhaling. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Feferi doesn't say anything. It's Eridan who speaks up, catching your eye in the review mirror. "We didn't want you to worry. This is common for us."

"That just makes it WORSE!!" You yell, slamming your hands on the wheel again. "That's BULLSHIT!! No one should ever be fucking alone on Thanksgiving. I can't believe you didn't tell me. What the fuck usually happens to you?"

"Our parents are always on business trips." Feferi whispers. "I haven't seen my mom in nearly a month."

You close your eyes and breathe out slowly. "Well, she's gonna miss out on the best Thanksgiving ever. You and Eridan are staying with me for the week."

"WHAT?!" They both shout. Dave shakes his head and smiles as if he expected it.

"Only you, Nep."

Your jaw is clenched as you continue driving down the road, ignoring Feferi and Eridan's flustered attempts to tell you to stop. "You don't have to do this!!" Feferi pleads. "We really don't want to bother you."

"You're not." You glance at her in the mirror again. "I promise you're not."

They both fall silent as you reach your house. It suddenly occurs to you that they've never actually visited your home.

Dave hops down and grabs Eridan's luggage and his own, heading to the door. You're grabbing Feferi's things when she grabs your arm; startled, you look down into her gorgeous fuchsia eyes. They're brimming with tears and her lip is trembling.

"Thank you," she breathes out. "You mean a lot to me. I can't tell you how grateful I am for this." 

With that, she pulls you into a hug. 

You immediately tighten your grip around her; she curls herself into your chest and cries. Despite the sad circumstances, it's one of the best hugs you've ever received. You shut your eyes, trying to ignore the tightening in your chest. With a grace that even Kanaya would've been impressed by, you look down, tilt Feferi's head up, and kiss her gently on the forehead.

Her eyes widen and you pull away, smiling sadly. "C'mon Fef. My mom wants to meet you."

Still silent, she follows you into your house and you close the door behind you. Your mom, who was apparently talking to Eridan, comes rushing towards you with a huge smile. "Hello!! You must be Feferi; I'm Ms. Leijon, Nepeta's mom. It's very nice to meet you!!"

Feferi manages to smile and attempts to shake your mom's hand; with a yelp, she's pulled in for a giant hug. "Like mother, like daughter." Eridan remarks. 

You take a look around. Dave's plopped on your couch, dozing off. If you look closely, you can see the bruises and scratches and it makes you snarl. Eridan looks at you curiously and follows you as you head into the kitchen to grab the first-aid kit. "Whatcha doing?"

"It's a very long story, but Dave's injured and I know him well enough that it's hurting." You find it in the cabinet below the sink and head back to Dave. He's breathing heavily but other than that, no sign of pain.

With a flawless stink-eye, you lightly press into one of his bruises and make him yelp out loud. "What the fuuuuu-Nep please what the hell would you do that."

"Because you idiot, you're hurting and I will not take this shit in my own house." You snap at him, practically dragging him to the bathroom. Eridan and Feferi, curious as ever, follow behind and watch as you make Dave take his shirt off next to the sink. 

"No."

"Dave Strider, I will not hesitate to forcefully take the shirt from you."

"Gonna have to beat me in a strife," he immediately challenges. You have to restrain yourself from slapping him as he stands down, eyes lowering.

"Fuck. God fucking damn it." Dave practically rips off his shirt and you glare angrily at the still bleeding slash marks. Feferi gasps out loud and Eridan mutters under his breath, "Holy shit."

"And Dirk didn't do anything?" You try to control your anger as you snatch several band-aids and Neosporin, setting down several Q-tips as well. "What happened."

"Bro happened," Dave grits his teeth. "Showed up again. I had to hang up on John when he swung at me."

"I'm going to actually kill him." Your hands are trembling as you dip the Q-tips in the medicine, smearing them over the slashes. Dave hisses at the sting but looks at Feferi when she asks, "If it's alright, what's going on?"

"I'll explain because Nepeta is going to lose her shit if I continue, so I'll just stop and start from the beginning. My older brother Dirk isn't the oldest. We have Bro; that's literally all he is to us. His idea of parenting is absolute shit. He has a tendency to 'strife' with us, which is just him going after us with a sword. One wrong move, and we're injured. Dirk's a lot better at dodging than I am, obviously." Dave inhales as you dab more medicine onto the cuts. "We didn't know it was bad until we met John and Jade and their respective siblings several years ago. Since then, we've tried staying away from Bro but he still goes after us sometimes."

"Can't you move out?" Eridan frowns. "My dad may ignore me a lot, but he'd never hit me. That's bullshit."

"No one can do anything." Dave shrugs. "We just live with it."

Feferi's frowning. "Has your brother said anything yet?"

"Nah. We never do."

You hand the band-aids to Eridan. "Help me with this please while I make a quick phone call."

"Nepeta Leijon you better not be doing what I think you're doing!!!!" Dave shouts. You flip him off and dial Dirk's number, setting it to speaker phone. It rings once, twice, three times.

_"Hello?"_

"You son of a bitch," you snarl into the phone. "How dare you leave Dave with him!!!"

There's a sigh on the other line. _"Nep, if he's with you, then he should be fine. I'm sure Bro didn't hurt him that bad."_

Your left hand has curled into a fist. "That's what you said last time. That's what you said the time before. He had to go to the HOSPITAL, DIRK. Do you remember that?? He was losing all that blood and you didn't check up on him. The only person who realized he was nearly dying was Karkat, remember?? He knew Dave would never cut off a conversation. Where the fuck were you, huh?"

It's silent. Dave's getting pale. Feferi and Eridan have been shocked into silence. Your mom appears in the doorway, frowning. She makes sure she's in your line of sight before she pats you on the back, taking the phone from your hand. "Dirk, sweetie?"

_"...Disciple?"_

Your mom sighs. "Meulin to you. Where are you now?"

There's whispering in the background before Dirk returns. _"I'm at Roxy's house."_

"Good." Your mom nods, glancing at Dave. "Your brother's lost a good amount of blood but he's still on his feet. Any more though, and he would've been knocked out."

Rustling occurs. A new voice speaks clearly from the back. _"Hello Ms. Leijon. It's Rose. Thank you for informing us about Dave. I think Roxy is on her way over right now. I'm terribly sorry about all this."_

"It's quite alright, Rose." Your mom looks at you with a noticeable look in her eyes; you take the hint and beckon everyone out of the bathroom. Dave stays behind so your mom can tend to his wounds.

You reach the living room and nearly punch the couch. Your claws extend the entire way out and nearly slice a pillow in half. "AARRGGGHHH!!"

Feferi sits down on a chair probably spooked. Eridan pats you on the back. "Sorry Nep. Wish we could tell you somethin' nice to cheer up."

There's a pause before Eridan shoves you around. "But I'm gonna fuckin' tell you to suck it up!!"

Feferi gasps out loud and you narrow your eyes. "Eridan Ampora, what do you think you're doing?!?!" Feferi hisses, looking behind the two of you.

"I'm gonna get Nep's shit back together." Eridan straightens up. "And she's going to fucking fight me."

"Pardon?"

"Me 'n you Nep. One on one, we're gonna fuckin' fight each other." Eridan takes off his sweater and tosses it onto the couch. "Is your backyard big enough?"

"For me to kick your ass? Anywhere and anytime." You grin and shrug off your jacket. Your anger flares at the thought of beating him. 

The three of you head to the backyard, deciding to battle in the cool autumn air. You settle into a familiar fighting stance and Eridan looks unsure as he awkwardly squats to try and get a read on you. Feferi looks worried as she backs up.

"Three, two, one, STRIFE!" Feferi backs up even more as you spring at Eridan. In a matter of seconds, you have already figured out his weak spots and where to take him down from his stance. Too graceful for yourself, you leap forward and pinch his neck, kidney punching him in the meantime. Feferi takes one step forward; you can practically sense the ashen quadrant coming into effect. 

As you adjust your balance throughout Eridan's flailing, something takes over you. Eridan's height, the skinniness, it comes flying back to you and your vision goes red. Your claws slide out slowly against his neck and Eridan freezes, going completely still. "Nep? Nep, what're you-"

"You motherfucker," you whisper. You're shaking, completely entranced in your memories. "You...you did this..."

"No?" Eridan tries to shove you off but you press your claws in deeper. Feferi rushes forward. "Nepeta!! That is ENOUGH!!"

"He did this," you stare at her. "He left and vanished and came back and I'm here to finish the job."

Eridan surprises you by flipping you over, holding down your fists on the grass. "Nepeta, listen to me. You're safe. I don't know what happened, but it's over, okay? I'm not going to hurt you."

Your vision clears. With a whine, you slump against the ground and try not to cry, clenching your fists against the ground. "Oh my god. Oh my fucking god. I'm so sorry, Eridan."

Eridan gets off your stomach and helps you to your feet. "I'm sorry, Nep." He sighs, sharing a glance with Feferi. "I just didn't want you to be mad anymore."

You laugh, throwing your head back and sheathing your claws again. "Where's the pouty Eridan I know so well? Can't have my kismesis soften up on me!"

Feferi throws her hands to her mouth, gasping as Eridan's eyes widen. "I...kismesis? I'm your kismesis?"

His smile is radiant and you can't help but grin back. "Yeah. You and me, spades quadrant."

Your new kismesis practically floats on air as the three of you head back inside. By that time, your mom has finished talking to Rose and Dave is currently sitting on your couch with a scowl, drinking water.

“It’s getting late,” your mom eyes you down; dirtied and bruised and Eridan looks a bit worse. You’re still wearing your claws. “I trust things went okay?”

“Well, I have a kismesis now.” You shrug and try not to laugh as your mom gasps and rushes at Eridan, pinching his cheeks. 

“Oh, that’s wonderful dear!! But don’t actually hurt my darling Nepeta or I’ll beat the living shit out of you.” Your mom smiles sweetly. Dave spits out his water and Feferi snorts. You giggle, finally feeling yourself relax. 

Today had been a long day. 

It might be even longer tomorrow. Sigh.

With a yawn, you head to your room and vaguely listen to Eridan and Feferi talk about sleeping plans with your mom. Dave, ever so silent, follows you close behind and sits on your cluttered bed as you open drawers and grab your cat PJ’s. 

He doesn’t have his shades on but you could care less if he sees you change. You’ve seen some crazy shit in your day, including the time you and a few of your friends went skinny dipping.

That’s a story for another day.

Moral of the story is, don’t ever let John get out of sight when it comes to stealing clothes, and you’ve seen those few friends naked and they’ve seen you naked as well.

Dave obviously does not care as you strip down and change into your comfortable PJ’s. “…How do you think tomorrow’s gonna go?”

You contemplate this for a moment. “Well, I’m probably gonna tackle Equius, Dirk’s probably going to apologize to you, a few of us are probably going to get drunk, and there’s going to be good food.”

Dave throws his head back and laughs, eyes scrunching and everything. You grin at the sight. “Shit, you’re probably right. Got a guest list?”

“Me, you, Feferi, Eridan, Rose, Roxy, Dirk, Karkat, and maybe Vriska? Equius is gonna stop by.” You shrug, staring at your gloves and wondering if you should take them off. The blue has been fading for years; the gloves themselves are frayed and worn down. Your claws are dulling. You don’t feel comfortable with that knowledge.

“The Egbert-Harley-Crocker-English family headed to Washington again.” Dave snorts. “They won’t be back for a while.”

“Yeah…” You sigh. “And then we’re off to college.”

The younger Strider groans and flops onto your bed as you check your phone. Seeing a certain text come in, you pocket your phone and head to the front door. “I’ll be right back!!”

“Noooo come back and…and…shit, I don’t know, but do you have any apple juice?” Dave pleads, rolling over on your bed. 

You roll your eyes and open the front door, grinning as Roxy tackles you down. “NEPETA!!” She yells, pink eyes bright as ever. “Hey girl, what’s going on?”

You close the door behind her. “Ready for Thanksgiving!! Pretty hyped about that. What’s up with you, Ro-Lal?”

Roxy dramatically groans. “College is a bitch but I’m still having fun! Who you got in the crib right now?”

You stifle a laugh and point a thumb at your bedroom. “Dave’s chillin’ in there and Eridan Ampora and Feferi Peixes are probably gonna stay the week with me.”

“No shit!!” Roxy grins at you. “Ain’t that your crush?”

“SHH!!” You shush her, emerald green eyes wide. “You need to shush right now before–“

“Nepeta?”

Feferi herself appears out of nowhere, making you squeak quietly and Roxy to snicker. “We’re all ready for bed, and I was wondering where I would sleep?”

"Um...where’s everyone else gonna sleep?” You glance at Roxy.

Roxy shrugs. “I’m cool with taking the guest bedroom with Dave.”

“Eridan said he’d take the couch!” Feferi smiles. “So that means…um…”

“That means you can sleep in my bed!!” You quickly respond. You can already feel Roxy snickering next to you as your cheeks go bright red. 

Feferi blushes too and heads back immediately. “I’ll, uh, be in your room!”

You turn back to Roxy who’s waggling her eyebrows. “Sooo??”

“Not a word,” you mutter, trying to ignore the smile tugging at your lips. 

You bid your goodnights to everyone and ruffle back Dave’s hair, absconding to your room. Feferi’s dressed in light pink PJ’s with seashells on them. Your tank and shorts are the complete opposite of hers. 

The two of you quietly get into bed, staring at each other. Your heart is beating loudly as you swallow. Her fuchsia eyes are bright and you feel like the world is going to stop.

“Thank you,” she whispers with a small smile. “You’ve changed my life in so many ways.”

“You have as well,” you respond, biting back the urge to grab your gloves. With Feferi next to you, it’s not as strong. You’re safe. 

You’re home.

Her beautiful eyes slowly close and she sinks into sleep, breath slowing down. You have to choke down your urge to kiss her on the forehead and instead opt to lean close to her. Taking in one last glance, you fall asleep and let yourself be pulled in by your dreams.

**XxX**

Your name is Feferi Peixes. You’ve just had the best sleep in weeks.

When you wake, you find yourself face-to-face with a sleeping Nepeta. She’s calm, unwound, peaceful. You can’t help but admire her. 

Your red crush is growing. Every time you think about her, you find new reasons to like her. 

You still can’t believe that she took you and Eridan in for Thanksgiving. 

How kind was Nepeta Leijon? To what extent did it reach? You’ve never seen her lose control like she did with Eridan, and honestly? 

It kind of frightened you. 

You don’t want to tell her that, of course. You don’t ever want her to find that out. 

Next to you, Nepeta stirs, and you quietly get out of bed. You take one last look at the lion mane that resembled her bed hair and walk out of her room.

A glance at your phone shows that it’s 10 AM. The house is still quiet. There’s a light on in the kitchen however, and you start to walk towards it. 

Your own hair is a giant puffball as well, curly and tangled. You yawn and blink at Nepeta’s mom, who’s packing food into containers. “Good morning,” you mumble out, squinting your eyes against the light. 

“Good morning sweetie!” Nepeta’s mom smiles, making sure everything was ready. “How’d you sleep?”

“Pretty good,” you murmur. “Should I wake everyone up?”

“Let Dave rest for a while,” Meulin shakes her head. “Roxy should be up by herself in a bit, but can you wake Nepeta and perhaps Eridan up?”

“Of course!” You smile back. “Thank you for letting Eridan and I spend the week with you. This…is really uncommon for all of us. I don’t remember the last time I got to do this.”

“I may not know your mother, but she’s missing out.” Meulin squeezes your hand and you choke on a sob. “Thanksgiving is for family, and you are my family as well. Any of Nepeta’s friends will always be welcome here.”

“Thank you,” you whisper. Meulin sends you off and you try not to cry, steeling your nerves as you head to Nep’s bedroom and sit down next to her.

“Hey,” you lightly shake the sleeping pile. Nepeta’s quietly snoring and you giggle. “Nep, wake up.”

“What time is it?” Nep mumbles under her breath. 

“Not important, but we need to start getting up.” You brush back some of her lion’s mane and grin at narrowed emerald eyes. 

"While you get dressed, I’m going to wake up Eridan.” You giggle at the quiet snarl that rumbles from Nepeta’s throat. 

"Nooo," Nepeta whines. "Stay with me please.”

Your heart clenches and you breathe out slowly. “I…”

On cue, Roxy pops up at the door, yawning. “Dave’s in the car already, I dragged his ass into the seat. Do y’all have any coffee?”

“My mom should know where it is,” Nep struggles to get up. She yawns again and you meet her eyes for a moment. 

The two of you hold gazes for an eternity, and then Nepeta breaks away. “I’m gonna get dressed and I’ll meet you guys at the car,” she murmurs, nearly too soft to hear. 

“Alright!” Roxy cheers, smiling at you and Nep. “See y’all then!!”

You stare at your flush crush as she gets up and heads to her closet. “…Nepeta?”

“Mhm?” She pulls out a huge dark blue hoodie with an arrow on it, looping several curls around her ear to get her hair out of her face.

“…Why won’t you tell us about it?”

Of course Nepeta knows what you’re talking about. She glances your way, a flash of emerald eyes and then she’s turned back around. “Traumatizing. Bad memories, bad nightmares. I don’t trust as easily as I used to. Can’t sleep without knowing where my claws are. Have to make sure my moirail is okay, even though I know he is.”

"...Will you tell me the person’s name?”

At this, Nepeta pauses. A pair of black jeans dangle from her hand. Her pure black combat boots are stationed by her bed. 

It’s too quiet. She shudders once, stops, and breathes out deeply.

“…Gamzee. Gamzee Makara.”

And then she shoos you out of the room.

The door locks and you’re staring wide-eyed at the ground, inhaling and exhaling. _Holy shit. Oh shit. Oh no. No no no no no…_

You know him. 

Oh god you can’t think about this now. The truth of it would kill you and drive Nepeta away, and you don’t want that. For now, just keep your mouth shut, and don’t say a word.

It’s for the best, really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all shall be revealed soon ;)


	5. oh so that's why you're like that

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm several months late
> 
> i am so sorry
> 
> take this chapter as my apology :(
> 
> also i have other works in progress rn but I'll only post them when they're done lol
> 
> a bit of violence in this chapter!!!!!!!!!!!! i don't go into depth about it, but still!!!
> 
> enjoy!

When you get to Roxy’s house, everyone piles out while going to help Ms. Leijon. Nepeta immediately goes for the food, helping her mom balance containers and various things. Dave and Eridan grab the decorations while you get the bag crammed with clothes for the sleepover.

Rose Lalonde greets you at the front door. “Hello Feferi, it’s lovely to see you again.” She smiles, beckoning you in. She holds the door open for everyone else coming in behind you and welcomes everyone, side-eyeing her sister.

“Sup Rose,” Dave grins at her. Nepeta waves cheerfully and Eridan sticks close to Nep. 

Over the past couple of months, relationships have improved a lot between everyone. Eridan and Nepeta apparently saw each other more and more after Homecoming, which eventually led to their black relationship. 

Eridan wasn’t your moirail anymore. You talked to him about it, and he was obviously upset, but Nepeta had calmed him down and went to go have a play fight with him in the backyard. She calmed him down and he riled her up. 

You and Nepeta had grown closer as well, and you both opened up to the other about each other’s lives and dreams and hopes.

Today, you were going to meet Nepeta’s moirail!!

You can see Karkat already inside being joined by Dave. Nepeta follows a second later. While you watch the three of them, someone’s hand clamps down on your shoulder. 

“Hello darling!!” A loud voice booms in your ear. “You look gorgeous! This your first year here?”

“Uh…” you blink, staring at this woman who looks exactly like Roxy. “…yes?”

Nepeta’s mom pops in. “This is Feferi Peixes and she’s spending Thanksgiving with us.” Her mom squeezes your shoulder.

“Meulin, your daughter is a gem.” The older Roxy sighs out. “Well, welcome Feferi! You may call me Mom Lalonde! Welcome to my home, love!”

“Thank you,” you smile. “Your house is beautiful!”

Mom Lalonde grins and strides off, stopping by Dave to talk to him. Rose appears on your right, raising an eyebrow at the worried look on your face. “Something wrong?”

“I…I don’t know.” You admit, taking in the happy family and friends. You watch as Roxy grabs Dave and Nepeta and crushes them in her embrace, the two laughing as they head off towards the kitchen. Karkat follows as he rolls his eyes but grins too.

“I feel so out of it here.” You rub your arms, pushing your long black hair to the back. “I’m not used to this. To a family.”

Rose doesn’t say anything. She just squeezes your shoulder and inclines her head towards a smiling Eridan. “I am truly sorry that you were never able to have Thanksgiving with your mother. But I’m glad that Nepeta brought you and Eridan here, and at least you’ll be able to have turkey with us.”

“Thanks, Rose.” You manage a weak smile. “Is anyone else coming?”

“Dirk is since he stepped out a while ago, and perhaps Vriska Serket as well. Families are very…iffy to our little group.” Rose shrugs. “I think John, Jade, and their cousins have the best relationship with their parents. This is all Nepeta’s idea, however. If it wasn’t for her, Roxy and I would be spending holidays always alone, and I hate to think of what Dirk and Dave would do.”

You open your mouth but get cut off by the doorbell. Rose gives you a bright smile as she heads off to greet her guests. “Help yourself to anything, Feferi.”

“Thank you!” You call back. 

...What now?

You pull your phone out of your pocket and glance at it, wondering whether or not to text Nepeta or anyone else. Everything was staring to get a bit overwhelming. 

A hulking shadow throws you off as you see it appear on the wall. With wide eyes, you turn to see a very muscular guy with long black hair stand behind you with a permanent frown. With cracked glasses and a dominant air around him, you can’t help but flinch away. You swallow and notice some white scars around his neck. 

“Excuse me,” he says in a rough voice. “Have you seen Nepeta Leijon?”

You take a glance at his olive green sweater. Another arrow, but opposite.

The symbol for moirallegiance.

“Are you Equius Zahhak?” You ask with wide eyes.

This was Nepeta’s moirail?? Holy shit.

“Yes, that’s me. Do you know where she is?” He raises an eyebrow over the glasses. 

You start to point to the kitchen but freeze when you hear a gasp. You look over to see Nepeta’s eyes go wide with complete shock as she clutches a drink in her gloves, Dave and Roxy poking their heads out. 

“Equius??”

Equius smiles for the first time and holds his arms out. “It’s been a while.”

Everyone’s watching as Nepeta shoves her drink into Dave’s hands and throws herself at her moirail. Nepeta isn’t tiny, but she practically vanishes into Equius’ hug. 

“Well shit, it’s been a while since we’ve seen him.” Dave takes a sip of his own drink. You jump at his voice. 

“E-Equius? Why doesn’t he come around here more often? It looks like she really needs him.” You rub your arms, staring at the two moirails lost in their own world. 

Dave goes silent and you glance at him. He has a mistletoe Christmas hat on with a horrifically ugly sweater that you can’t even begin to describe. “Well…”

“Was he involved with Gamzee too?” You lower your voice, glancing around to see if anyone heard. 

Dave nearly chokes on his drink. “Fuck, uh, yeah. He was. Did she tell you the story already?”

“…No,” you admit. “She just told me his name.”

The younger Strider frowns but sighs and shakes his head. “Equius got homeschooled. Couldn’t handle going back to the school. Nepeta could tolerate it at least, but her moirail couldn’t. It was too much. They exercise on the weekends usually, but I think he went on a trip with his dad. I can tell Eridan’s been helping keeping her emotions in check but no one does it right like Equius can.” Dave shrugs. 

You glance back at Nepeta and see all the tension drain from her shoulders. Dave’s right. Equius keeps whispering things into Nepeta’s ear that makes her laugh and smile and you can practically see the diamond form between them.

Karkat makes his way over to you and Dave. “Hey, Fef.” He nods at you. You smile back and watch as Karkat’s eyes soften at the pale scene. “Good to see Equius again. They’re the moirails everyone wish they had. Longest running too; they became friends in kindergarten and moirails in elementary school.”

You gape. “What?! Seriously?”

That’s a very long time for moirails. To allow someone to know you for that long and have that strong of a relationship?

Absolutely incredible. You’re immediately jealous but proud.

Finally, Equius and Nepeta break apart. Nepeta’s smile practically lights up the room as she grabs Equius’ hand and drags him back to the kitchen.

“Wanna introduce yourself?” Karkat nudges your arm. “Nepeta’s been wanting to have you meet Equius for a while now.” 

You manage a smile and let Karkat lead the way to the kitchen, Dave not far behind. Ms. Leijon’s setting food out and making sure everything’s perfect. Roxy skips in, grabs a Diet Coke, and bounces out immediately. 

Nepeta’s grabbed her drink back and pours Equius a glass of milk. He gives her a grateful smile and takes a sip, turning slightly when he sees the three of you approaching. You suddenly realize that their sweaters were matching and made a diamond when together. Holy shit that’s cute.

“Good to see you again Equius.” Karkat holds out his hand. Equius nods and shakes his hand. Dave throws a peace sign which makes Equius laugh. 

"Good to see you too Vantas, and Strider too. Who is the girl?” He looks down at you and you wave. 

"I'm Feferi Peixes,” you give him your best smile. “I was brand new this year but I’ve made friends with everyone here! Nepeta’s become a really important part of my life and I’m really grateful for it.”

“Good.” Equius nods. “Do you perhaps know Nepeta’s kismesis? I believe I need to have a few words with him.” 

Your eyes widen and Dave laughs, Nepeta rolling her eyes. “You better not do anything to Eridan, okay?” She threatens, but you can see the smile she’s struggling to hide. “He’s going bathroom right now but he’ll be back.”

“I’ll meet him when he comes down then.” Equius rumbles, drinking the last of his milk and heading back out. Nepeta snorts when he daintily sets the glass down.

“So!” Nepeta says brightly. “That’s my moirail.”

“He’s…” You gesture with a single hand. “Not what I expected.”

“Yeah, I used to get that a lot.” She grins. “He’s wonderful though. Did you guys want anything to drink?” 

"I got my supply of AJ somewhere in Roxy’s room,” Dave shrugs. “I might go get that.”

“Why the fuck do you need to hide it?” Karkat narrows his eyes. 

Dave gives him a _look_ , which makes Karkat laugh loudly. “Of course, Rose’s 15th birthday.”

“What happened then?” You ask, watching as Nepeta throws her head back to laugh. 

“John and Jade swapped the drinks for Rose with apple juice.” Karkat sighs loudly. “It would’ve been fine if all the grocery stores hadn’t closed because of all the goddamn snow and roads were closed.”

“So basically, we were stuck with only cake and apple juice.” Nepeta giggles, eyes sparkling. “Rose banned AJ from being in the house but Roxy keeps a secret stash in her room.”

“John’s hate for cake increased after that day.” Dave’s smile widens and you don’t miss the blush. “Luckily, I keep a stash of granola bars in this house somewhere secret so I shared a few with John, Rose, and Jade.”

Karkat opens his mouth to speak but gets cut off by Rose, who pokes her head in. “Dave, your appearance is requested.” She calls, wrinkling her nose at a few blonde strands that fall into her face.

“On route.” Dave salutes, winking at the remaining members of the group. “Gonna go help our darling Rosie and I’ll probs be back in a bit.”

Rose rolls her eyes and stifles the smile, dragging Dave with her. Now it’s just done to you, Karkat, and Nepeta.

It’s Karkat who breaks the silence first. “Wanna go hang out in the guest bedroom?”

“I probably have stuff scattered in there from the last time I was here.” Nepeta shrugs. “Sure!”

You follow behind them silently and head up the stairs, reaching the top and heading down another long hallway. Two doors stand out to you; the one painted pure black with blue, red, and green splashed all over and fancy cursive letters spelling ‘Rose Lalonde’ in purple. 

The door next to it is several different shades of pink. There’s cat stickers everywhere with a whole lot of tally marks starting from the very top. It’s near the bottom where you can see an orange diamond among the pink paint and various quotes in sky blue and dark green. ‘Roxy!!” is written in a very dark pink that’s noticeable near the top of the door.

You point at the tally marks. “What’re those for?”

Karkat’s eyes soften and Nepeta speaks up. “Every single day she’s been sober.”

Your eyes go wide and you stare at the thousands of tally marks scattered everywhere. “Whoa…”

“She’s been sober for over three years.” Karkat smiles. “Everyone is extremely proud of her and she’s doing good too. Roxy has a small drink very rarely; she’s usually our designated driver if we go out.”

You barely know Roxy Lalonde but the ache of pride and the smile you have while you’re staring at her door makes you want to go give her a hug. “That’s incredible.”

“It really is.” Nepeta smiles. “C’mon, we’re wasting alone time!”

The three of you head to the plain white door and push it open. Inside, there’s two queen sized beds (jeez) and drawers. A connecting bathroom sits on the other side of the room. 

Nepeta plops on a bed, closing her eyes and sighing. “Can’t believe we’re nearly halfway through our senior year.”

“Don’t say that,” Karkat groans from the other bed. “There will be no mentions of senior year on this goddamn break. It’s a break. Zip, zero, nada. Absolutely no mention of that hell place.”

You giggle and Nepeta smirks. “Fine. Anyways, Feferi,” she sits up so you can stare into her dark green eyes, “you doing alright?”

“Yeah!” You smile at her. “Eridan’s really enjoying this and so am I.”

“That’s good.” Nepeta closes her eyes again. Karkat’s watching you with a raised eyebrow and something in his gaze pulls a remark out of you. 

“I just…get worried…that I don’t have a lot of memories with you guys.” You stare at your hands, wrists covered in bracelets and a few rings adorning your fingers. “Like Rose’s party? You guys have known each other for a long time and I sometimes feel like the odd one out.”

It’s silent for a moment. Nepeta’s quiet, and then she leans forward and wraps you in a hug. You bury your head in her neck and breathe in the pine scent she usually has. 

"It's okay, Fef." Nepeta strokes your long hair and you relax immediately. “We’re glad you’re with us now.”

Karkat lets out a small laugh. You feel Nep turn and so do you, peering at him from your position. “That’s hilarious because I feel the exact opposite.” He shakes his head, sliding off the bed to join the two of you. “Honestly Feferi, I’m glad you didn’t know us back then. I was a bigger asshole who cursed all the time and I pretty much pushed everyone away. I won’t speak for Rose, but Dave was a fucking idiot and John was actually kinda rude to people. I won’t speak for Nep either, but we’ve all had our own character development and what you see now is the result.”

You take that into consideration, nodding at the info. “I guess so! I just felt like it would’ve been nicer if I knew you guys a year ago or something.”

“I feel like I’ve been in your life too long, Nepeta.” Karkat sighs. “There’s still shit I think about a lot–“

“I know, Aradia told me.” Nepeta says simply, looking sad in her really cool sweater. “Unspoken words with memories that still stay in my dreams.”

The loud clatter of high heels makes everyone jump as they echo on the stairs, and you look towards the slightly open door. 

Mom Lalonde pops her head into the bedroom. “Food’s nearly ready!” She chirps, and for a second you swear she’s not actually drunk because of the gleam in her eyes. She takes a second to acknowledge your nods and vanishes again. 

Nepeta shoves herself off the bed and pauses for a moment, turning back to you and Karkat. “You’re a part of my past Karkat, and I think you’re a part of my future Feferi. But we’re in the here and now and this is the present and I’ve spent a long time dwelling on what happened and why it was Equius and I that had the worst of it.” 

You swallow and Karkat lowers his eyes.

“But this time, I’m prepared.” Nepeta raises her hands and extends her claws, narrowing her emerald gaze. “The clown is never going to hurt me or my moirail again.”

There’s a tugging in your heart as Nepeta’s hands glow pink. Sensing an agreement between you and Nep, your hand glows brown and a faint window opens up in front of everyone.

There she is.

A younger and smaller Nepeta is shown walking behind a curtain. She doesn’t have as much muscle as she does now, and her claws are shorter. She has a dark green jacket that’s newer and sharp looking. It looks familiar…

She looks…softer. You swear you don’t mean that offensively!! It’s just…

Comparing the two, the present Nepeta is on guard. She’s nearly always tense and sharper. She’s…changed.

The school’s stage appears in the memory. You recognize the seats in the front and the sound booth in the back. There’s an underlying sense of fear coming from the young Nepeta as she creeps backstage.

"Equius?" The younger Nepeta whispers, eyes wide. You can hear talking from somewhere in the background as she carefully removes a vent and crawls in, making sure her coat makes it through the gap as well.

Next to you, Karkat inhales slowly. You glance away to see him shaking. You lean over and pat him softly on the arm, and he shuts his eyes.

Nepeta keeps crawling through and reaches the end of her destination. You see her pause, lean towards the opening, and she _gasps._

The way she does is shocking. It’s a gasp of shock, of fear, of horror. You barely have time to react before her claws come unsheathed and she’s perched on the edge of the vent. One lucky punch and the vent comes flying off and Nepeta’s leaping through, screaming in rage with her claws extended and there’s two figures beneath her and one’s on the ground completely pale and there’s another one with a huge grin and clubs and–

_“HONK.”_

The connection breaks and Nepeta stumbles back, unseeing as she blindly reaches for anything in her grasp. Her claws–a bit dull and a lot longer, you realize–slide all the way out as she slumps against the wall and shakes.

“Fuck,” Karkat rasps. “What the hell was that?”

“Heart, Life, Blood.” Nepeta whispers, lifting her head to reveal bloodshot eyes. “Combining those three opened up several memories. Oh god. I…I’ll meet you guys down there. I need to freshen up.”

She sways as she leaves the room. You’re shocked into silence as you recall the memories. 

_Gamzee Makara…I can’t believe you._

Your mother and his father know each other. Her Imperious Condescension and The Grand Highblood, business partners. They used nicknames like those to strike fear into their companies and rule with an iron fist.

You knew Gamzee from when he was younger. He vanished for a while though and then came back as a teenager. You and Eridan had been shocked at the changes that had happened; he smoked weed, had his hair grow crazy, and he was completely and utterly off.

He wasn’t your friend anymore. 

You shake off your own memories and look over at Karkat. “Are you okay?”

“It’s just…” Karkat throws his hands into the air. “I was dating her at the time!! And I didn’t know what to do!! So I didn’t do SHIT!!!”

“We were just a bunch of terrified sophomores.” Karkat sighs. “Equius and Nepeta, nearly killed in a matter of minutes by the guy who was our friend. I’m so fucking angry about it. We were kinda moirails but then we weren’t and everything went WRONG!!”

He doesn’t realize he’s crying until you brush some tears away. “We knew how bad it was, but we didn’t…we didn’t know how it really went down. There was so much _blood_ …”

You give him one shoosh pap and he quiets immediately. “Now we’re here.” You say firmly. “We’re always gonna have Nepeta’s back, right?”

Karkat looks up at you, so sad and so tired, and you see it. He’ll always love Nepeta in a certain sense but they would never be matesprits again. They’ll always be there for each other. “Yeah,” he croaks. “You love her. She’s had a crush on you since you came to the school. Take care of her for me, okay? Make sure she’s safe. Make sure she’s happy. Because I will tell you now Feferi Peixes, if you break her heart, I will actually fuck you up.” He threatens.

You gulp. It’s obvious he isn’t joking. “I promise.”

“Good.” Karkat sags against a pillow. “I’m tired. I would try and leave early, but it’s Thanksgiving, and these are some of the only people I can tolerate. Let’s wait for Nep and then we’ll go.”

You nod and jump when Nepeta herself slips into the room. She looks exhausted and Karkat narrows his eyes. “Did you–?”

“Almost,” she says wearily. “I think the thought of Equius helped.” 

You stare at Nep until she shakes her head. “I used to have really common panic attacks.” She stares at her fading gloves. “Nearly had one but managed to calm my heartrate down. Let’s go eat, okay?”

“Okay.”

Everyone heads down the stairs, where you see everyone sitting at the table and chatting. There’s a girl you’ve seen before but don’t actually know her name; she has long black hair, blue lipstick, and a constant smirk. She’s sitting next to Rose and Roxy and laughing at something Roxy said.

Nepeta leans over to whisper, “Vriska Serket. You either fear her or hate her, but somehow our little group is the only exception.”

Vriska looks up and locks eyes with Nepeta. A few seconds pass, and Vriska nods out of respect and Nepeta does the same. 

“Hey Karkat,” Vriska purrs once she looks away. “Did I take your spot? Guess there’s nowhere to sit again!”

Without missing a beat, Karkat heads to a closet, reaches in, and grabs a chair with a shitload of pillows on it. To everyone’s amusement, he sets it down next to Dave and plops himself in, giving Vriska the middle finger. “Go fuck yourself.”

Everyone howls with laughter while Vriska laughs, shaking her head.

Nepeta leans back over again. “She used to be a total bitch – well, she still is – but for some reason she cut me some slack. Her home life isn’t as bad, but it’s still not good. We invited her all of high school but she showed up sophomore year and it’s a tradition now.”

You take a quick look at Vriska Serket. She’s tense like Nepeta is, but it seems more like it’s always been a part of her. As you watch, the tension starts to drain from her shoulders and she looks better.

Being here just made things better. 

You take the spot next to Karkat. Nepeta follows suit and sits Equius next to her. 

“Now that everyone’s here,” Mom Lalonde smiles at the entire table. “I just want to say that I’m so thankful for my family. I like to think that we have new additions every year, and we do! Welcome Feferi and Eridan and I’m very glad that you’re here with us.”

“Rose is graduating this year, and as my youngest daughter, I am so–“ Mom Lalonde sniffs a bit; you see Rose cover her eyes and struggle to hide her smile. “I am so proud of you. Roxy’s growing into a beautiful young woman and I’m just proud to be your mother. To Dave, my unofficial son, you deserve all the happiness in the world.” 

Dave clenches his fist under the table and nods. “Thanks Mom.”

“Let’s just eat!!” Mom turns away to wipe her eyes and everyone grins. 

A guy walks into the room; Dave stiffens for a second and Nepeta tenses next to you. “Dirk,” Rose raises an eyebrow. “Nice of you to join us.”

“Nice to be here.” Dirk gives her a small smile. Through the pointy shades, you see his eyes land on Dave and he sighs. 

“Well, guess my awesome turkey meal is gonna have to wait for a bit.” Dave groans while Karkat shifts over so he can get up. 

The two brothers leave while everyone quietly resumes their meal. “I just realized this is our last meal together as seniors.” Nepeta says, eyes wide. “Mom, what will I do without your cooking?”

“I’ll mail it to you while you’re at college.” Ms. Leijon winks. 

Rose sighs and leans back in her chair. “Life’s going by for everyone. Soon this year will be over and the cycle continues for all of us.” 

“I still don’t know what I’m gonna do,” Karkat admits. “Journalism? Who knows.” 

Nepeta glances at Equius, who quietly reaches over and holds her hand under the table.

“Guys, it’s Thanksgiving!” Roxy stands up. “Sure it’s your last year here, but it’s gonna be a great one! We’re gonna celebrate and enjoy everything we’ve got!!”

“She’s right,” Dirk Strider walks back into the room with Dave at his side. “You guys need to have the best year of your life because college is around the corner.”

“Shit dude,” Dave sighs, taking his spot back. “Guess we’re doing this.”

“We’re making this happen!!” Roxy cheers. “I’ll drive everyone to get ice cream later, okay?”

Everyone cheers and continued eating with renewed vigor. You stare down at your plate; everything that’s happened in the past hour is starting to catch up, including something that Karkat said. 

Your eyes slide over to Nepeta.

_”She’s had a crush on you since you came to the school.”_

Your hands shake under the table.

“Everything alright?” Nep asks you, green eyes bright as always. A smile tugs at her lips and you catch yourself wanting to hold her hand.

You stare back at Nepeta. “I think I love girls.”

Karkat chokes on his food next to you while Dave howls with laughter, wheezing as Nepeta’s eyes go huge. 

“I agree with that statement,” Rose calls, while Roxy shoots you a double pistols and a wink. 

Eridan (who you haven’t seen in a while?? where did he go??) looks at you from across the table with a surprised look but then snorts and continues eating.

“That’s good to know,” Nepeta manages. She’s speechless; on her other side, Equius laughs into his salad. 

You’re both blushing and you can’t stop smiling. You want to sweep Nepeta Leijon into your arms and whisk her off into the sunset while you kiss her. That’s a pretty damn good thought.

One day. And hopefully that day is soon.

Karkat grins at you then nods slowly at Nepeta. “You make her really happy,” he whispers. “Ask her out first and it’ll really surprise her.”

Your name is Feferi Peixes and you are going to hatch a plan to ask out Nepeta Leijon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feferi: I'm gay
> 
> nep and everyone else: shit me too


	6. something about how your past and future are connected and there's no time like the present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all happy 4/13!!!!!
> 
> I figured an upd8 would be good today lmao
> 
> enjoy!!! leave me comments about stuff, I like reading those thank you guys
> 
> (@ the nepeta kin anon, I love you and that made my entire day. have a wonderful day love!!)

Your name is Karkat Vantas, and it’s about damn time you were the focus of a chapter.

Christmas has come and gone. You spent the day with your insufferable family, casting the usual red sweaters aside. You love your dad, but goddamn!!

Ms. Leijon gave you several gift cards to various bookstores. She was a woman with good taste; you figured out where Nepeta got it from. You baked cookies with the Leijon family and had a pretty good time, not that you’d admit it.

And then came New Year’s. 

Feferi offered to throw the party at her mansion. To give the Lalondes a break, everyone said yes and pitched in for drinks and decorations. This is where you find yourself; December 31st, seconds after midnight on a ladder in Feferi’s huge living room. You’ve just put up a huge banner with the customary greeting when Nepeta comes waltzing through the front door with a huge bag of fireworks.

“I’ve brought the good stuff!” Nepeta calls out loudly, setting them down on the kitchen island. “I think Roxy’s bringing the drinks?”

“That’s perfect!!” Feferi peers over the banister, perched at the top of her stairs. You notice her blush and you roll your eyes, grumbling as you climb down the ladder.

Your foot slips, and you let out an ungodly screech as you topple backwards. “WHAT THE SHIT–“

In a flash, Nepeta rushes over and catches you in her arms. You sigh loudly as you wrap your arms around Nepeta’s neck. She looks down at you with a smirk and pointed fangs. “Gotta be more careful, Kit-Kat!!”

“Kit-Kat?” Feferi snickers, heading downstairs to admire the decorations. “That’s a new one!”

“Dave and Nepeta try their best to give me stupid fucking nicknames.” You complain, shifting your weight in Nepeta’s arms. You move up and down as she laughs, throwing back her head. 

"Totally worth it!” Nepeta gives a lovesick smile to Feferi, letting you get back up on your feet. 

You can practically TASTE the romantic tension in the room.

A few days ago, Feferi confided in you that she had a plan to ask Nepeta out. A few hours ago, Nepeta told you that she had a grand scheme to woo the shit out of Feferi. 

You, Dave, and Rose have bet on who will ask who out first. You silently will Nepeta to take the first move, because you have $20 riding on her!!! And a custom hoodie from Rose because you are _not_ passing up an opportunity for that. 

Dave hustles through the front door, carrying a shitload of bags that you’re guessing has beer and other sorts of alcohol. “Rox had to go comfort Dirk, something about Jake? But she’ll be back in a bit.”

Nepeta snorts. “Oh Dirk. Anyways, all we have left is the food. I’m gonna order a lot of food from Olive Garden in several hours. Any requests?”

The yell of “BREADSTICKS!” echoes through the house and shit it’s ringing in your ears. You grumble quietly as everyone in the surrounding area starts talking excitedly about New Year’s.

Next to you, Nepeta enters your personal space. You narrow your eyes at her bright smile. She knows damn well you’re bullshitting with your grumpiness. 

“So Karkat,” Nepeta purrs. Those emerald eyes sparkle and you already know the question before she asks. “Think tonight’s the night?”

“I don’t fucking know Leijon,” you sigh out. “Maybe if you grow a pair of balls and ask her out first, then we’ll see. I have $20 on your ass and so does Dave.”

“I intend to ask her first.” Nepeta nods determinedly. “The problem is, I am very tired, and I would like to sleep.” 

"You damn right.” You yawn, eyes watering. “Feferi, do you think we can have a sleepover? I think all of us are tired.”

“Really?” Feferi tilts her head, confused. “I didn’t see anyone–“

Nepeta lets out a loud snore as she slumps against your shoulder. In the kitchen, you hear a small _thump_ as alcohol bottles clink together in the bags. You’re willing to bet your entire life savings that Dave just passed out on the floor.

With the last of your willpower, you drag Nepeta with you to the couch. Feferi rushes over to the kitchen and drags Dave by his arms, dropping him and helping you with the giant pull out couch. You pull Dave next to you, make sure Nepeta is comfortable, and give Feferi a tired peace sign. 

“Sorry guys,” Feferi winces. “I didn’t see the time.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” You shrug. “All of us have shit sleep schedules so it was bound to happen. Dave’s the best at not sleeping though, so I’m glad he’s getting his rest. We’ll see you in several hours when we’re all awake.”

“Yeah!!” Feferi grins at you. “Alright, goodnight!!”

She turns off the light and plunges her living room into darkness. There’s something familiar in having Dave on one side and Nepeta on the other, and it definitely reminds you of junior year when all three of you stayed by each other’s side the most. 

You smile tiredly at the thought and wrap them both closer. Dave may be in love with John, and Nepeta may be in love with Feferi, but goddamn all three of you love each other in the best platonic sense. 

Dave slings an arm around your waist, Nepeta curls up into your chest, and you sleep.

Light’s out.

**xXx**

The next morning, you find Jade somehow sleeping with you well. Honestly, this isn’t even a surprise for you. Shit like this happens all the time. You grumble quietly and keep on snoozing with everyone else.

You’ve started to become aware of your surroundings thanks to Nepeta, so you can hear shuffling in the background. Someone–you’re pretty sure it’s Roxy–is moving around, opening the fridge. 

“They’ve been like that the whole time?” Someone else whispers. You recognize John’s voice. He sounds a bit concerned and you’re too tired to care.

“Jade joined them about two hours ago,” Roxy snorts. “How’ve you been? Y’all have been gone for a while.”

“It’s been alright.” John scratches the back of his head–you think, since your gaze is blocked by the back of Nepeta’s head. “I just have a bad feeling about something.”

Roxy opens something that sounds like a soda. “Think this year isn’t going to be good?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just tonight.” John sighs. “I’ve just got a really shitty feeling about tonight.”

“Hm,” Roxy ponders. “Well, maybe asking out Dave would help!!”

“Honestly? That might be the reason. I know I’m wasting my opportunities if I don’t say anything.” John grumbles. “We’re all graduating in a few months. I feel like tonight is a good night to say something to him, but…I don’t know.” 

"Go for it." You can practically feel Roxy’s smile as she claps her hand onto John’s shoulder. “If you don’t say it now, you’ll regret it.”

“You’re right.” John laughs. “Sometimes I forget that a good amount of us dated each other for a short period of time. Dave dated Jade, Karkat, and Nepeta for a while, jeez. Pretty sure that Jade and Nepeta had a fling? And of course Karkat and Nepeta as well.”

“I think we’ve _all_ had a crush or dated Karkat at one point.” Roxy laughs really hard. Her voice goes softer as you hear her getting closer to the couch. “But Feferi and Nepeta…”

“They’re gonna stay together for a long time.” John murmurs. “I think it’s the same way I look at Dave, because I’m pretty sure I love him. So…”

“Cheers to the New Year’s, right?” Roxy lightly taps her soda can against John’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be a good night. Nep’s gonna order the food when she wakes up, Feferi’s out right now getting ice, and we’re gonna party like crazy.”

“Hell yes!!” John cheers. You think that’s your cue to get up, so you fake rolling over and groan loudly. 

“I do believe that Sleeping Beauty is awake,” Roxy remarks, leaning over to smile at you. You narrow your eyes as her pink eyes gleam with joy. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just don’t wake anyone else up with your loud ass talking.” You growl, carefully maneuvering yourself out of the tangle of limbs. 

Dave rolls over into your spot and Jade snores in unison with Nepeta. It turns out you’ve lost all feeling in your arms when you try to get up from the pile, grunting as the static travels through your body.

“Discussing love lives, I see?” You stretch as you stand on Feferi’s tile floor. “Why didn’t you count me the fuck in.”

“You guys needed sleep!” John shrugs. “And I know it takes a lot for the three of you to pass out like that, so we decided to leave you be.”

“True, but goddamn it Egbert.” You sigh.

The front door opens and Feferi walks in, carrying two bags of ice. Eridan stumbles after her with one in his hands. “Good morning Karkat!!” Feferi whispers loudly, smiling at you. “Is everyone else still asleep?”

You point to the couch as you check the time. It’s one in the afternoon; everyone slept a little over twelve hours. It would explain why you feel so heavy since you usually don’t get to sleep that long.

“We’re gonna need a shitload of pasta,” Eridan mutters as he sets the ice down on the island. “And breadsticks. How long does Olive Garden take to make it?” 

"I don't know, but Nep said she’d make the call.” John glances down at Nepeta. “Should we do it for her?”

“Nah, she wanted to do it.” You bend over and gently shake Nepeta awake. Past experiences with waking her up never went well after The Incident so since then, you’ve been careful with how you and other people shook her awake. 

Nepeta had to apologize far too many times for the claw marks she left after people scared her after she woke up. 

“Nepeta?” You quietly hum. Next to her, Dave stirs and opens his blood red eyes. 

“Sup dude,” he rasps out. He turns to Nep, who’s dead asleep. “Yo, Nep, Karkat needs you. We all need you. Help us Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope.”

Nepeta snorts out loud and fully wakes up. “Shut the hell up,” she laughs, waking up Jade in the process. “Mark that as one of the best ways to wake up, ever. Thank you, Dave.”

She rolls over to face you and you can’t help but laugh. With a tired and dazed look, she strikes a pose on the couch. “What’s up Karkat?” Nepeta slurs out, and everyone laughs. 

“Order the damn food from fucking Olive Garden already.” Your biting remark has no real passion behind it as you roll your eyes. “Time to get the fuck up kids, we got shit to do. How’s everything coming along?”

“Drinks are ice cold and ready!!” Roxy salutes you. 

"Good!!" You spin around to Feferi, who hides her smile behind her hand. “What’s going on with the fireworks?”

“They’ll be set up soon!!” Feferi giggles, shyly looking at Nepeta who’s grabbing her phone and calling in the order. 

“GOOD!!” 

Everyone’s struggling not to lose their shit at you and John, who’s been dramatically mouthing everything you’ve been saying. 

A force lands on your back; it’s Jade of course, who else would it be? She giggles as she curls herself around you. “Good afternoon Karkat!! I hear we’re gonna have a great time tonight!” 

Dave goes to throw an arm around John’s shoulder as the two of them blush at each other.

You gaze around at your group of friends and smile. They may be a bunch of assholes, but they’re _your_ assholes and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

**xXx**

A few hours later, Feferi’s New Year’s Party is in full swing. 

You sit comfortably on Feferi’s couch, watching your friends and other strangers dance and talk to the beat of the music. Dave’s currently running the DJ spot for the time being while Dirk’s out.

Nepeta set up Feferi’s kitchen with all the food from Olive Garden and transformed part of it into a bar. You still don’t have any idea where all the drinks came from, but you’re not complaining because there’s a shitload of people having a great time.

You take a sip of your beer and eye the clock. It’s around 5 PM; several of your friends are finally showing up. 

You think you see Vriska Serket heading through the crowd with Terezi Pyrope next to her. As you watch the two of them, Terezi turns and catches your eye.

You both smile.

Terezi whispers something to Vriska, who gives you a harmless glare before vanishing into the throng of people. Your old friend plops next to you, grin sharp and wide as ever.

"Sup Karkat?" Terezi purrs out, stretching on Feferi's couch. "I heard you were in charge of decorations tonight."

"You damn right I was." You snort. "I also had to buy extra shit for both Feferi and Nepeta without telling each other."

"Speaking of them..." Terezi moves over a bit. "I heard that they're trying to ask each other out?" 

“They are!! And both are determined to do it by tonight.” You glance over at Nepeta, who’s chatting with Aradia and Dirk, who came back from wherever he was. “I’m betting on Nepeta. I really think she can pull this off.”

Terezi laughs at that, but then grows quiet. “Y’know…I’ve been noticing her being happy more and more. She’s gotten a lot better, hasn’t she?”

“Yeah.” You clench your jaw. “It’s gotten a lot easier. She still…lashes out sometimes. Eridan Ampora is her kismesis and he’s been helping her out when she can’t handle it.”

“That’s good at least.” Terezi nods. “Nepeta deserves her happiness. None of us can forget sophomore year, Karkat. God, it just comes back to all of us sometimes.”

“The theater kids didn’t perform there for over a year.” You recall, remembering the aftermath. “No one would head in there. Nep had panic attacks just getting close to it.”

“And Equius too,” Terezi sighs. She swishes her drink around, lowering her gaze. “When did we get so fucked up?”

“I have no idea,” you admit. “At least we’re all moving away in the end.”

“I guess so.” Terezi shrugs. “I’ll be sticking with Vriska for a while. She needs someone to look out for her. You?”

“I’ll be heading to some college.” You catch a glimpse of Feferi and Eridan weaving through the crowd. “Get my degree in something.”

“That’s good.”

It’s quiet for a moment. 

"Y’know, Karkat…” Terezi starts, but then sighs again. “I’ve got a weird feeling about tonight. It may just be me being a Seer again, but something’s up.”

Your chest tightens. “As in something bad?”

“Well, I don’t really know.” Terezi glances at you. Even though she’d been blind for years, she still managed to stare you down at the best and worst of times. “It’s good and bad, I suppose. Something good is gonna happen but something horrible is going to happen too.”

You inhale and think of Rose. She was the other Seer in the group, but you knew she wouldn’t help in this case. She just let things happen, while Terezi was the one to try and warn others.

You guess seeing Nepeta’s…near-death experience before it actually happened shook her up badly. It was too late by the time she contacted anyone about it, and you were already at the hospital. 

You didn’t leave Nepeta’s side for a week. 

You shake off the memories. It wasn’t a good night to get caught up in those. 

Terezi already knows where your mind went. She gets up and gives you a sad smile. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m gonna go find Vriska again, okay? See you later, Karkat.”

“See you later, Terezi.” You whisper back.

You look down to stare at your long forgotten drink. The background noise fades as someone sits down next to you; judging from the giggle, you already know who it is.

“Hello Karcrab!!” Feferi trills excitedly. She doesn’t seem to notice your expression or your mood as she just smiles at you with black lipstick and pink eyes. The tips of her hair, which have also been dyed pink, are curled near her waist as she leans over to you. 

“Hey, Fef.” You manage a weak smile. “How’re you?”

“I’m doing WONDERFUL!!” Feferi squeals. “This party is the best one of the year so far!! Everyone’s having a great time and so am I!” 

"That’s good.” You nod, catching another glimpse of Roxy dancing her way through the crowd. 

Feferi quiets down as she catches your eye. “Are you alright?”

You grunt, tilting your beer at her. “I think so. I’ve had two people tell me that they have a bad feeling about tonight and it’s starting to mess with me.”

She bites her lip while you narrow your eyes. “Not you too!!”

“I’m sorry!! But there’s been a bad presence here as well. Rose talked to me earlier about it too.” Feferi sighs. “I just don’t know.”

The two of you shake your heads in unison and watch the crowd once more. 

After a while, Feferi groans and shuts her eyes. “My stupid Life powers are acting up,” she scowls. “Everyone’s timeline is glowing brown and the rip in Nepeta’s is really messing with me.” 

“A rip?” You ask, eyebrows furrowing. No one really talked about their powers; it was kind of weird, since they didn’t work that often for a lot of your friends.

“Yeah. The sophomore year rip; it was obvious when I got to properly talk to her for the first time at homecoming.” Feferi’s face drops, and you know she’s reliving the memory. “I knew something really bad had happened but I didn’t want her to think about it.”

She turns to you, gaze carefully blank. “Karkat…I really like her a lot. Nepeta Leijon is one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met, and that’s saying a lot, honestly.”

“She really is.” You stare at your hands. In your mind’s eye, you can remember freshman year.

You get lost in your memories often.

_Nepeta is young and so are you._

_She's soft and warm and she’s holding your hand like you’re going to let her go. At the time, you just had a crush on her but you weren’t sure how to address your feelings for Nepeta Leijon._

_“Karkat?” She blinks up at you, green eyes wide. “You mean a lot to me. Thank you for being here.”_

_She squeezes your hand, and your heart melts. You stare down at Nepeta Leijon and give her a gentle kiss on the forehead. You pull away, both blushing furiously._

_You think you are starting to fall in love with her._

And now, years later, you would protect her with your life. No one would ever get close to her again like that.

You barely notice Feferi next to you stiffening. Feferi stares at you, bright pink eyes wide with fear. “Something’s here, Karkat. Something _bad._ "

_Ding dong._

The doorbell rings. 

There’s just something burning in your blood as you get up since you’re the closest. As you keep walking towards the door, you spot Nepeta next to Eridan. Her eyes are going huge and she’s looking so _scared_ that your breath catches as your hand lands on the doorknob.

Rose Lalonde catches your eye; she looks up in horror, violet eyes huge. “Wait, Karkat, no–“

It’s too late. You swing open the door, and you stare into the one face that’s haunted you and your friends for years, including the girl and her moirail who's currently standing behind you. 

“Holy shit,” you whisper.

“Sup, motherfucker? HONK.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy


	7. the thing we've all been waiting for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally going to be 10 chapters but I don't play by my own rules so it's probably gonna be longer than that.

Your name is Nepeta Leijon, and–

And–

You think you’re going to pass out.

It’s been deathly silent for too long.

Karkat hasn’t moved an inch from the door. He’s starting to shake; next to you, Equius is completely frozen. Rose, who’s nearby, stands up immediately and clenches her fists.

The entire house has gone silent.

“Holy shit,” Karkat whispers.

Gamzee Makara grins at everyone, droopy eyes clear and hair still a mess. “Sup, motherfucker? HONK.”

The entire room ERUPTS into chaos. 

Your claws are out before you can take your next breath. Rose has her knitting needles in her hand, Dave’s pulled a sword out of nowhere, Feferi’s jumped up with fear and shock in her expression–

Equius chokes next to you. You can’t help the chills running down your spine, and your wrist and head throb from ghost wounds. Your moirail slowly puts his hand to his throat.

“Nepeta,” he whispers. “Breathe.”

You suddenly realize you haven’t taken a single breath of air. You gulp in heavily, trying to relieve the pressure in your chest. It’s tightening up and your heart is beating fast and holy _fuck_ everything’s going dark and you’re swaying on your feet–

Someone grabs your arm. It’s Kanaya, who’s still as stone as she holds you upright. She has a gentle palm on Equius’ shoulder, who grips it like his life is going to end. 

Bad metaphor. 

“I will not hesitate to run him through with my chainsaw if you wish,” she murmurs so quietly into your ear. “Nepeta, you’re having a panic attack. Breathe, love. Focus on Equius and I. I will escort the two of you out of here as soon as possible.” 

Your throat is dry but you’re determined as part of your vision returns when you say, “No. Let me just…get my bearings again. Fucking hell.”

You’re suddenly exhausted and god fucking damn it, it’s the aftermath. You HATE this part because the one person you actually want to kill is several feet away from you being confronted by weapons, and _you’re not in the front ready to slit his throat open._

Kanaya practically growls as Gamzee looks your way. He looks relatively calm, which is impressive as he has several weapons in his face. He nudges Terezi’s dragon cane aside and calls out, “Hey cat-sis! How’re you and the horse dude doing?”

Your vision goes red.

Honestly, you don’t remember the next ten seconds. Rose tells you later that you shoved Equius into Kanaya’s arms and leaped towards Gamzee with your claws outstretched. You managed several slashes before Dave tugged you away.

When you come to, Gamzee’s bleeding and you have blood dripping from the tips of your claws. The clown shrugs, and you can see the scars where you originally got him. You grin with sharp fangs, making sure he can see them. 

“You have exactly one minute to explain why the FUCK YOU’RE HERE GAMZEE!!!” Karkat snarls from his spot, sickles in both hands. 

Gamzee just completely ignores the blood dripping down his arms and shrugs again. “I felt like it, Karbro.”

“If you call me that again I’m going to have Dave let Nepeta go.” Karkat clenches his jaw. “You’re not welcome here anymore. You haven’t been for a long time.”

“But I do have friends here.” Gamzee tilts his head, confused. “I thought this was open invite?”

“You cannot just waltz in like you own the place.” Rose spits, brandishing her sharp as shit needles. “Unless…you know…”

Dave tenses up and you think your heart stops again. Knowing Rose Lalonde for years has helped you learn how to read her, and you know she just came to a very terrifying conclusion. 

Karkat turns to Rose, eyes going wide. “No.”

“Unless you know the host.” 

Everyone turns to Feferi. 

Your crush, one of your best friends, the girl you fell in love with, is currently shaking in her flats. Out of the corner of your eye, Eridan Ampora, your own kismesis, is staring at Gamzee with absolute horror in his eyes.

“…Gam?”

“Oh my fucking god.” Roxy whispers somewhere on your right. 

“What’s up, Eri? And Fef, my main girl!” Gamzee gives them a toothy grin. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”

You stare at Feferi. She locks eyes with you; her fuchsia eyes are wide and welling with tears. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I promise I was going to tell you.”

“You knew who he was the moment I said his name,” you breathe, everything clicking into place. “I told you about him and you saw what he did and you KNEW about him.”

“Nepeta, no, it’s not what you think–“ Feferi pleads.

“You and Eridan and him are friends.” You put your hand to your forehead, starting to giggle. There’s tears dripping down your cheeks but you’re so overwhelmed you don’t care. “You’re friends with Gamzee Makara, the guy who nearly killed me and my moirail.”

Dave gently wraps an arm around your shoulder, covering your view of Feferi who’s crying. “Nep?”

“I’m doing great!!” You gasp out, blinking as the tears burn your vision. “I’m doing FANTASTIC!!!”

You throw your head back and laugh loudly, doubling over and choking on your spit. Static is traveling throughout your body and you legitimately cannot breathe. 

“I loved her with all my heart,” you spit, “and she’s friends with him. Even my own kismesis, Dave!!! They…holy shit…”

Karkat looks at Rose, who nods at him before continuing to point her needles at Gamzee. Your former matesprit comes rushing over to drag you and Equius away with the help of Kanaya and Roxy. 

"He came back to finish me off," you start sobbing, eyes squeezing shut. “Please. Please no. I don’t deserve this anymore.”

Equius hasn’t said a word. As you start to break down in the kitchen, he silently reaches over and holds your hand. You grip his calloused hand with all the strength in the world, your lifeline to reality weak and trembling. 

Kanaya and Karkat glance at Roxy and Dave. “We’ll take it from here,” Kanaya says. “We’ll protect them.” 

Roxy nods, anger causing her to snarl as she grabs her favorite gun and marches past Dave. There’s noises of shock as you hear Roxy turn off the safety and lets everyone know it’s locked and loaded.

Dave’s still gripping his sword. “I’ll go reassure the crowd of terrified spectators and tell them to go home. Dirk has his katana ready and I’m pretty sure Vriska’s in the crowd somewhere ready to kill him. I can see Aradia from here; holy _shit_ she looks pissed.”

He pauses, looking at you and Equius. “We have your backs. We’re all ready to fight; he will NEVER hurt you both again.”

You and Equius nod, not trusting yourselves to speak. Karkat’s eyes soften and he quietly holds Kanaya’s hand. His moirail just sets her tube of lipstick on the counter. 

The moment Dave leaves the room, Karkat tosses a trash can over and you cry tears of gratitude as you have a place to throw up. 

_What do I do now?_

**xXx**

Your name is Feferi Peixes, and _your world is falling apart._

First off, there’s a shitload of weapons in your house right now and you have no idea where they came from. You’re assuming they’re portable, but that is NOT your biggest concern at the moment!!!!

Eridan has made his way next to you and he quietly hands you your golden trident. An heirloom from your mother and now it’s going to be an intimidation technique. You thank him and turn back to Gamzee, who looks pretty unfazed by everyone.

“Gamzee,” you rasp out.

Roxy and Dave and other friends who are joining the group of furious people turn to look at you. You can practically sense the betrayal and they have every right to be mad. 

Gamzee grins at you. “Nice house, Fef. It’s been a long time!!”

“It should’ve been a lot longer.” You shake. Eridan may not be your moirail anymore, but he’s standing close like he’s going to protect you. Being Nepeta’s kismesis taught him not to be a major asshole to everyone and it was a good change in your old friend.

Nepeta…

Your heart broke the moment she looked at you. You knew it was all over and nothing could ever redeem yourself. 

You're not aware you're crying again until you speak. “I need you to get out of my house.”

“Aw c’mon Fef, don’t you want to hang out again? It’s been a while!” He coaxes. “Nice pink tips by the way, it brings out your eyes.” 

“I NEED YOU TO GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!!” You scream, shoving the group of furious people out of the way. Your trident is shiny and sharp and you dig the tips of it right into Gamzee’s throat. He stares down at you, eyes wide as you grit your teeth and snarl and push a bit further.

“What’s going on?” Gamzee chokes out. “Why are you so mad at me?”

“Nepeta fucking Leijon,” you spit. “My flush crush and Equius Zahhak, her moirail. You almost KILLED THEM YOU BASTARD!!!!! Does that ring a FUCKING BELL?? SOPHOMORE YEAR??? HOW ABOUT THAT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!!”

Gamzee has a good several inches on you but you have managed to bring yourself up to your full height and scream in his face. “I’M IN LOVE WITH NEPETA LEIJON AND YOU NEARLY FUCKING KILLED HER AND EQUIUS!!!! WHAT WAS THE REASON, HUH?? DO YOU ENJOY SEEING PEOPLE SUFFER??”

“I was addicted to drugs back then,” Gamzee swallows. “I’ve been sober for almost a year now.”

“I DON’T GIVE A SINGLE FUCK!!” You roar, pressing your trident deeper. A trickle of blood makes its way down his neck. “YOU HURT PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT AND I DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU ANYMORE. So PLEASE, get OUT OF MY FUCKING HOUSE!!!”

“Fef, please.” Gamzee pleads. “I’ve been taking medication for a while now. M-My memories are scrambled up; I thought we were all friends!!!”

“Who the fuck prescribes medication like that?” Rose snaps. “You’re so full of shit.”

“My therapist, Doc Scratch?” Gamzee looks away nervously. “He said sophomore year was bad and I didn’t want to remember it so he gave me the pills.”

Most of your group glances over at Rose, who stiffens. She’s the unofficial therapist for everyone. If anyone knows psychology, it’d be Rose. 

Rose's violet eyes are narrowed but they’re lost in thought. She taps her chin thoughtfully, setting her needles back into her dress. _Does she take them wherever she goes?? Jeez._

“You and I need to have a chat.” Rose jerks her head at the kitchen where Karkat is. “With him present.” 

“I can do that.” Gamzee nods. 

"Why’d you come back now?” Roxy calls out. “Too much of a bitch to own up to your mistakes?”

Behind you, Aradia Megido, Dirk Strider, and Vriska Serket have joined the group. Everyone else has left your house by this time.

A quick glance at your phone shows 6:30 PM. What happened to your perfect New Year’s?

“Yeah, actually. I stopped doing drugs but I turned to drinking instead, and if any of you remember Tavros Nitram, he’s the one that got me to say everything. Honk.” Gamzee scratches the back of his head. “That motherfucker got me to live better and I stay away from bad shit now. I came here to apologize.”

“You came to APOLOGIZE?!?” 

Everyone voices their shock in unison. Even in the kitchen, Karkat and Kanaya poke their heads out, eyes wide. This was the last thing you expected to happen.

“Yeah. I fucked up majorly. I almost killed two of my old friends just because of my family and all the stress and I couldn’t control it. Something just _snapped_ in me and they happened to be the ones cleaning up the theater.”

“Where Nepeta caught you with weed, told Equius, he confronted you, and it all went downhill from there.” Dave breathes. “You attacked him, Nepeta attacked you, you got her, and escaped the school.”

“That was the worst fucking chain of events in my whole life. Cat-sis didn’t deserve it.” Gamzee shakes his head. “Equius doesn’t either. I came to apologize because I’m leaving.”

“You’re leaving?” Aradia Megido’s words ring through the air. She stomps forward, a whip curled around her left wrist. Her dark red eyes are furious and everyone takes a step back from her. Even Dirk and Dave back up, swords at their side.

“You came back because you’re LEAVING?” She cracks the whip, the sound echoing through your house. “A true coward you are, Gamzee Makara. You couldn’t have said anything before?”

“Things were too delicate junior year, I couldn’t intervene like I wanted to.” Gamzee protests. “I swear that I really wanted to say something, but I heard that she and Equius weren’t doing well so I stayed away.”

“It made me paranoid,” a hoarse voice calls out. Your pulse jumps up and you turn slowly to see Nepeta Leijon walk out of the kitchen with Equius at her side. She’s sweating, she looks exhausted, but she stands with a strength you could never dream of having.

Above her curly black hair, her timeline is glowing brown and pink with Heart and Life powers, and you see the rip clear as day. 

"It made me look over my shoulder constantly,” Nepeta continues, unsheathing her claws slowly. They’re dried with Gamzee’s blood but still sharp as ever. “I was terrified you would come out of nowhere and finish the job. I lost so much sleep to keep watch over Equius in case you came back.

“I almost lost my best friend because of you.” Nepeta glances back to look at Karkat, who looks choked up. “You destroyed a huge part of my life and I will never be the same again.”

To your shock, Gamzee sinks to his knees. He’s always been tall, but when he kneels, Nepeta towers over him. Equius is her moral support as she takes in the sight before her. 

You’re still staring. Down the row, it’s Eridan, Roxy, Dave, Rose, Dirk, Aradia, Terezi, Vriska, Karkat, and Kanaya who all have their weapons ready. None of you can move as Nepeta lifts Gamzee’s head up with a single claw. “What is it.”

“I came back this last time to apologize.” The clown wipes away a tear. “I wasn’t in my right state of mind, and that’s no excuse, but I will never forgive myself for this. You two were my friends and I nearly KILLED YOU.”

“You almost did,” Nepeta says calmly. “I had a cracked skull and a concussion and a shattered wrist and Equius needed help breathing on his own because you damaged his esophagus. According to the doctor’s, we both nearly died several times that night.”

“The moirallegiance that could withstand a lifetime,” Dave mutters from your left somewhere. “If Nepeta’s heartbeat dropped, so did Equius’. If Equius stabilized, then so did Nep. They’re not just moirails, they’ve got to be linked or some shit.”

Gamzee closes his eyes. “Hit me. Do something. If it makes you feel better, do it.”

Nepeta inhales. She looks at Equius, who gives a tiny shrug. She looks around at everyone and they just look back with shocked expressions.

Nepeta looks at you. She studies your expression, which is full of surprise and something else you can’t identify. Those emerald green eyes take in every part of your face before she turns back to Gamzee.

“Fine.” She whispers. “Fine.”

Nepeta suddenly brings her arm back, hand clenched into a fist. Everyone gasps as she swings; you shut your eyes and prepare for the worst. 

But no one’s going to stop her.

When it’s too quiet, you take a peek and freeze. Nepeta’s fist is inches away from Gamzee’s face; he opens his eyes and goes cross-eyed at the fist in front of his nose. “Why’d you stop?” He croaks. “I deserve this. Just do SOMETHING!!!”

“No,” Nepeta breathes. “I won’t.”

She sighs, holds her middle finger behind her thumb, and flicks Gamzee’s nose as hard as she can. The clown jumps back, purple eyes wide with shock. “W-What–“

“I’ve had years to think about that night.” She begins, looking at everyone around her. Equius puts a single hand on her shoulder. “Tonight is New Year’s. What’s done is done. I won’t forget this, and I’m not forgiving you, but I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Rose steps forward and practically drags Gamzee away from Nepeta. “Mercy comes in many different places,” she murmurs, “but that doesn’t mean you’ll be getting it from us. Karkat, with me. I have several questions I need to be answered.”

"Okay," Gamzee whispers, and the three leave into the next room. 

It's over. It's all over, and Nepeta just leaves with Equius at her side. 

It's finally over.

**xXx**

Nepeta finds you a few hours later; your phone reads 11:30 on your bedside table. You’ve been hiding from your guests for a while now, refusing to come downstairs. Your hands shake as she opens your door. 

“There you are,” Nepeta says right as you blurt out, “We need to talk!!”

The two of you stare at each other.

You look away, tears blurring your vision. “Look, Nepeta, I’m so sorry. I knew who he was but I was so scared you’d want nothing to do with me if I told you I knew who he was and–“

“Hey, it’s okay.” Nepeta gives you a sad smile. “Eridan told me. Childhood friends, business parents, all that jazz. I understand that you were scared to tell me. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

You sniff, rubbing your eyes. It’s been an extremely long and emotional day and honestly, you’re exhausted. “I…Nep…”

Nepeta glances down at her wrists and slowly takes the gloves off. You watch as she sets them down on your bed and slowly walks over to you. 

Her curly hair tickles your nose as she leans in, pausing for a moment. She cups your cheek, breathing warm air onto your face. Your fuchsia eyes stare into hers as she huffs a bit.

“Fef,” she murmurs. Her eyes flutter shut and you gently bring her closer to your lips. 

“Read my heart,” you whisper, inches away from her lips. “What’s it say?”

The space in between the two of you glows pink, and Nepeta laughs quietly. “Oh good, my feelings are reciprocated. Turns out you love me too.”

“I have for a while,” you admit. “I think Halloween was a good turning point. But I think you should kiss me now.”

Nepeta fully laughs at that and your cheeks burn red as she leans over and uses her weight to knock you onto your bed. You stare into each other’s eyes and you are so in love it hurts. 

“I think I’d like to kiss you now,” Nepeta grins, her fangs poking out of her mouth. She cups your cheek again, leans in, and you press yourself into her.

You kiss her slowly.

Nepeta tastes like grape. 

She bites your lip just a bit and you gasp into her mouth. She chuckles and crushes you in her hold, still moving her mouth against yours. 

It’s just you and her against the world and you are so in _love_.

You both make out for a while. It’s not until someone knocks on the door that Nepeta stops kissing your neck and you give an embarrassed squeak. 

“Yes?” Nepeta purrs out, winking at you. She slides off you and you frantically try to fix your clothing. 

"So the ball’s gonna drop soon, and by that I mean Egbert’s.” Dave’s voice floats through the door. “His balls are finally dropping, it’s a miracle and everyone is celebrating. Hallelujah for all of mankind.”

“If you’re making the balls joke I’m unfriending you on Snapchat!” John’s yell makes you and Nepeta laugh. 

“Like this asshole could even unfriend me.” Dave snorts. “Anyways, whatcha doing in there?”

He opens the door to see Nepeta grinning like she just won the lottery and you’re still bright red. 

Dave's quiet. 

"Holy fucking shit. Did…did you…”

“YOU’RE GODDAMN RIGHT I DID!!!” Nepeta shouts, rushing to go high-five Dave. The two of them meet in the center and start screaming.

"HOLY SHIT!!!" Dave laughs. You put your head into your hands and smile so wide your cheeks hurt.

“Karkat owes you $20!!” Dave cheers. Nepeta pauses and looks at him with confusion. “Wait what?”

“From the beginning of the year? Your bet? OH SHIT!!! Rose owes Karkat and I $20 too!!! We bet that you would make the first move, uh, no offense Feferi.” Dave scratches the back of his head. 

"None taken,” you wave it off. “I was too scared to do it first anyways.”

Nepeta grabs your hand and intertwines fingers. “This is my girlfriend Feferi Peixes and I am in love with her,” she proclaims. “If anyone ever messes with her, I’m going to stick my claws into a place where it will not be pretty.”

Dave throws his head back and laughs and you smirk as you tug the two of them downstairs. “I heard someone’s balls are dropping?”

John gives your party the middle finger as everyone descends down the stairs. Kanaya greets the three of you when you reach the bottom, but cuts herself off and her eyebrows shoot up into space.

“Nepeta darling,” Kanaya stage-whispers. “Would you like a scarf? Your neck seems a bit…cold.”

You look at your girlfriend’s neck and snort loudly; Nepeta’s neck is covered in your black lipstick. She grins crookedly and touches her neck, bringing some of your lipstick back on her fingers. “Nah, I’m good.” She winks at Kanaya. You can see all the tension drain out of her shoulders. 

Nep’s still tired from earlier, but you’ve given her enough energy to make it through the night.

“Congratulations,” Kanaya smiles. “Now if you excuse me, I must collect my winning money from Terezi. I had bet that you would be dating before New Year’s, and she bet the opposite.”

You throw your hands into the air. “Did _everyone_ bet on us??”

Roxy comes rushing over and tackles you down. “You bet we did!! Literally!! John and Jade would’ve bet too, but they’ve been out of town and had to leave earlier. But they’re here now!!”

“I thought Jade was with us this morning,” Nepeta raises an eyebrow. “What did she and John have to do?”

“Jane and Jake needed an extra pair of hands for the fireworks.” She grins. “Speaking of that, it’s about to be midnight!! We gotta hurry!!”

It hasn’t occurred to you that there’s booming sounds coming from outside. As you head into your giant backyard with Nepeta holding your hand, you can see all your friends lighting fireworks and laughing. 

You’ve never had this many people in your house before having a good time and celebrating. Tears blur your vision as you look at Nepeta, too overwhelmed for words. 

Everything glows pink once more and Nepeta laughs as she tilts your chin up to kiss you. “I love you too.”

Somewhere off in the distance, money is passed around, curses are yelled, and you gladly ring in the New Year’s with the love of your life kissing you like you’re the only person left in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time; the aftermath of gamzee, johndave, and what carpe noctem/natem actually means if anyone looked it up. 
> 
> I honestly was gonna have nep beat the shit out of gam but...character development for my girl. in case anyone didn't know, nep is also taller than fef because I do what I want.


	8. maybe everyone really does deserve a happy ending (after everything, it's still worth it)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay summer has begun and I will do my best to update!!!
> 
> apparently another fic of mine is growing and I am impressed and proud lol
> 
> thanks for sticking along with the ride <3

Your name is Nepeta Leijon, and Valentine’s Day is coming up.

Oh boy.

Everyone’s at lunch chattering away; Karkat throws a piece of meat at Dave, who freezes it in time. It vanishes in a burst of green electricity and Jade pops it into existence over her mouth, swallowing the whole thing in one bite. You snort and Feferi laughs next to you, rubbing your hand as she eats her food. You swallow and blush as Feferi looks at you with those gorgeous fuchsia eyes of hers. 

"What?" She tilts her head, cascading hair curling over her arms. "Is there something in my teeth?"

You open your mouth and close it, poking your fangs with your tongue. "I, uh..."

"She's still overwhelmed from how much she cares for you," Rose calls out from her spot next to John, winking at you. "The fact that you like her back is still something of a shock, I'm guessing?"

You nod; Rose was usually right in her predictions. “You’re beautiful, Fef. I’m still speechless, honestly.”

“Babe, it’s been a little over a month.” Feferi laughs again. Her cheeks are bright pink as she kisses you near the corner of your mouth. “I find it funny how you’re so confident about everything and then when we’re dating, you get so flustered about the easiest things!”

“That’s how my entire life works.” You wink, brushing your thumb over Feferi’s hand. “Besides, you’re the first person I’ve pursued in a long time.”

“That’s true.” Dave nods at Feferi. “I’m pretty sure we’ve mentioned this before, but all of us dated for a while, kinda. We all swapped people just to see how it was. It was fairly interesting.”

“Due to everyone being a wonderful sport about the idea, no friendships were broken and everyone had a good time.” Rose smiles into her drink. “Dave, where did you and Nepeta kiss for the first time?”

You laugh loudly, remembering the time you first kissed him. It was the summer before your freshman year and you were having the time of your life at a sleepover that Jade had thrown.

There was a chugging contest going on between Dave and Karkat with chocolate milk. Karkat had beaten him by practically a millisecond; Dave, not wanting to be outdone, turned to you, quietly asked if you were okay with a kiss and when you gave your consent, he dipped you, and kissed you in front of everyone.

It was the funniest shit you had ever seen.

Karkat spit his chocolate milk everywhere. Rose and Jade burst out laughing while all of your friends gasped and screamed. You’re pretty sure Equius nearly killed Dave but he time-traveled away in time, grabbing onto your hand and grinning. 

"I may not be able to be your moirail,” young Dave had told you, “but we both like drawing and having fun, right?”

“Yeah!!” You had smiled, giving into the fist-bump he gave you. 

“Then let’s be best friends! I know Karkat has a crush on you, and Equius is your moirail for life, but can we be best friends?” Dave asked, red eyes wide and happy.

Best friends for life. You accepted and here you were, having the time of your life. Karkat had asked you out a week later which was the start of everything. 

"It was Jade's sleepover." Dave snorts. "Tried to outdo Karkat, ended up kissing Nep. It made Kit-Kat over here lose his shit and ask Nepeta out a week later. Best thing I ever did.”

Feferi laughs next to you. “Really? Oh my god! At least it worked out in the end.” She winks at you. “I totally kissed Nepeta’s hand yesterday and she got so flustered!!”

“Carpe noctem,” you giggle. “Good things always come to me by night.”

Feferi, Karkat, and Dave look at you with raised eyebrows. “Carpe noctem?” Karkat repeats. “What the fuck is that?”

“Seize the night, dumbass.” You grin at him. “Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘carpe diem’?”

“Oh fuck, you’re right.” Karkat mutters. “Whatever. Fuck off.”

“If things escalate, Nepeta’s going to ‘carpe natem’ soon.” Rose murmurs. John bursts out laughing and you gasp out loud. 

“ROSE LALONDE!! How dare you assume such things!!” You shout, failing to keep the smile off your face. “Between you and me and apparently John, I already have!!”

Rose throws her head back and laughs loudly. Everyone else looks confused. “What?”

“Carpe what?” Dave frowns. “What the hell are you guys talking about.”

“Carpe natem,” you snicker. “Seize the ass.”

Feferi gasps and blushes while Karkat wheezes, slamming his hand onto the table. “OH MY FUCKING GOD—“

“NEPETA LEIJON—“ 

"C'mon guys!! Didn't any of y'all learn this?" You laugh, grinning at Feferi who gently smacks you on the arm. 

"Well, at least Valentine's Day is coming up. That means I can 'carpe natem' someone." Jade wiggles her eyebrows up and down. "Who's gonna be my lucky victim?" 

"Jade, knowing you, everyone is your victim." John pipes up, making everyone laugh again.

"True!! Unless someone is in a relationship or isn't comfortable with their butt being grabbed, then I will respectfully not go for their ass!!" Jade high-fives him. "Consent is key my dudes. Works like a charm and everyone wins."

The bell rings and everyone packs up. You promise you'll pick Feferi up from swimming later and head to your next class. There's a swirl of what you're going to do for your lovely girlfriend going through your head as the day ends. You head out to the gym, slipping your hands into your lettermen jacket from track. People greet you and smile as you pass them. 

You smile back and push open the doors to the pool, heading to the stands to watch her swim. There's no one really there, so you just set your bag down and lean back.

There's a clattering on the stands next to you.

"So," a voice drawls out. "How's it hanging, Leijon?"

You allow yourself to smile and glance over to see Vriska Serket sitting down by you. She glances at you too, one lone cerulean eye blazing with passion. Four years and she never changed her public image; still the girl that everyone feared, with select few friends. 

"Sup, Serket. I'm watching my girl swim for her meet." You jerk your head towards Feferi, who has currently pushed her goggles out of her face as she listens to her coach. "How's the Pyrope place been treating you?"

Vriska barks out a laugh. "I keep Aranea out of Latula's way and Terezi keeps me out of trouble, so it's a win-win for everyone. How's Meulin?"

"Still making Kankri go crazy." You snort, thinking of your hyperactive older sister in college somewhere. "Thankfully, he's got his head sorta out of his ass so he's being bearable for the meantime."

Vriska laughs and you smile. It falls quiet as she sighs, pushing her long black hair out of her face. "Nep...are you alright?"

"What? Yeah, of course I am." You grin. "I just need to plan a date with Fef for Valentine's, and then—“ 

A golden aura surrounds you. Vriska's eye flashes with a golden sun, and you stiffen as a pink heart pulses in your hands. "Dude."

"What?" She mutters, glaring at you. "I'm just curious."

"You can just ask me directly, y'know. No need for your Thief bullshit." You narrow your eyes at her. "I know you and Rose have different abilities, but...c'mon. You don't see Dirk or me doing stuff with our Heart powers."

"Dirk doesn't need to, and you're powerful enough on your own." Vriska snaps. "You obviously know what I want. What happened?"

"Rose is the one who knows what happened." You shrug. "Not my deal."

"Of COURSE it's your deal!!" Vriska shouts. You make sure the swim coach isn't looking before you turn back to your...friend. "It HAS to be your deal, Nepeta!! That asshole did some pretty fucked up shit!! Rose may not have told you, but I know damn well she let you take a glimpse!!"

Your hands are glowing pink. There's a silent agreement as gold intertwines with pink, and Heart spills into Light.

_"My heart is open to yours." Rose inclines her head. "If you'd like, you may go ahead."_

_You smile. "Thanks, Rose."_

_The connection opens, and suddenly you're sitting next to Karkat and Gamzee while driving. It's New Year's, a few hours before midnight. You were taking a nap in the guest room and Feferi was hiding in her room. There's so much anger in your (Rose's) heart but there's a sense of curiosity as well._

_He speaks the truth, but who could be the source of this? Something's up. I need to figure out what the fuck is going on._

_"So, dickhead," Karkat speaks loudly, glaring at the backseat. "What the fuck is up? You better start talking, because you owe EVERYONE the fucking TRUTH."_

_Gamzee grimaces. "The problem is, my dude, is that my head is very cloudy. I told you, my therapist has been giving me medication to cope with it. What I did was wrong and this is me trying to make up for it."_

_Your anger flares again. No proper therapist does shit like that!!!! What the FUCK!!_

_"Gamzee," you begin, trying not to crush your steering wheel in your hands. You can literally feel the shadows creeping up your legs. Your tongue tries twisting up and your hair, a pale shade of yellow, starts to fade into a stark white that can only rival Dave's color. "You will no longer be seeing Doc Scratch. I will either write a strongly worded email or I will punch him in the face, whichever comes first. Do you understand?"_

_Karkat tenses up. His hand glows a bloody red, and you can feel a force shoving the Grimdark forces back to the void. The Blood aspect, even though Karkat may not believe it, is still extremely powerful and you quietly thank him as you cough a bit from the residue left from it. Gamzee speaks up from the back. "I trust you, Rose. If you say he's bad news, I believe you. It's just...no one ever wanted to listen or help and now that it's happening, I want to cry."_

_"There's nothing wrong with crying." You reply. "If you need to, have at it."_

_Gamzee immediately bursts into tears and you and Karkat exchange a shocked look. "She should've beaten me up. I deserved it!! I really did!!! And all I got was a FLICK ON THE NOSE!! Why didn't she beat me up? Why didn't she just punch me in the fucking face? I nearly fucking KILLED HER!!"_

_The car ride is silent, save for Gamzee's sobbing in the backseat. You're speechless and Karkat just throws his hands into the air. "Y'know what? Fuck this!!"_

_Gamzee looks up, purple eyes bloodshot. "What?"_

_Karkat inhales. You know he's on the verge of a classic rant, so you try to hide your smile and continue driving to the doctor's. "Look, dipshit. We all know what you did. Nepeta and Equius are scarred, you caused a huge rift in our group, and now we're gonna get you some help. The thing is, we all know we don't owe you JACK SHIT. So we're doing this out of the goodness of our hearts!! Don't give yourself a goddamn pity party. Got that?"_

_Gamzee sniffs, Karkat breathes a sigh of relief, and you continue driving. We'll get to the bottom of this, but for now, he's out of harm's way._

The connection breaks and you automatically stumble back from Vriska. She has her eye shut and when she opens it, she's shaking with emotion. "Fuck," Vriska rasps, leaning back. "Fuck. So, he's heading to a better therapist thanks to Rose?"

"Yeah." You swallow, shoving the emotions that aren't yours down. "They're figuring shit out. In the meantime, I'm trying to finish my school year strong and figure out what the hell I'm going to do after we graduate. Any plans?"

Vriska smiles, and this time it reaches her eye. "I'm gonna run away with Terezi. Go on an adventure, do whatever we want, y'know? No rules and no one to stop us. Latula already knows about it and we have her blessings. It's gonna be 'totally radical' or some shit."

You fully laugh at that, thinking of the older Pyrope. You, Terezi, and occasionally Vriska had to hang out with her when you were younger and holy SHIT she was...extreme. 

You sometimes hear a skateboard off in the distance and shudder.

"And what about you, Nep? Gonna hang around Karkat and those bunch of nerds? Head off with Fef somewhere?" Vriska inclines her head towards your girlfriend, who's swimming breaststroke. You just can't take your eyes off her. 

"I don't know yet."

"Better figure out soon, dude. Thank god Time was never my aspect, because that would've been a horrible disaster." Vriska gets up and fist bumps you, turning to grab her stuff and leave. "See you around, Leijon. Hope you get the happy ending you deserve."

You grin and wave as she leaves before hearing a buzzing noise in your pocket. As you fish out your phone, you quietly laugh to yourself. "Maybe I will, in due time."

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering  arsenicCatnip [AC]

TG: hey kitty cat this shit is bout to be lit so I'm gonna need your help with something for johnny boy   
TG: turns out I love the dude and I want to do some romantic shit for him   
AC: :33 < i'll be there lmao give me a few minutes!!   
TG: you're the best thank you   


turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering  arsenicCatnip [AC]

You glance up to see Feferi watching you. She's grinning, waving and making a heart sign with her hands. Your own heart beats faster as you blow her a kiss. _I'm not one to fall in love quickly but...holy shit, this is pretty close._

You cup your hands around your eyes and stick out your tongue; it's your symbol for Dave. Feferi nods in understanding and blows you more kisses. "See you later sweetheart!!" She shouts with a smile. "Have fun!"

You're practically floating as you leave. You seriously love your girlfriend oh my god.

Dave is a simple man. You know exactly where he is after school; with Karkat, buying snacks from the corner store. When you head out of the gym, you immediately leave campus in your car and head to the store. After locking the car and peering inside, you spot a familiar mop of stark white hair and ruffled black hair. You fail to contain your laughter as you open the door and head inside. "What's with the emergency text?"

"The idiot is too scared to properly ask John out," Karkat snorts, patting Dave on the back. "He's asking if we can help."

"Dude, you just gotta do it!" You laugh at Dave. He looks genuinely worried as he checks his phone. "It's not like we don't have any time, right?"

"...I invited him over to my place in thirty minutes."

You and Karkat gasp. "DAVE STRIDER!!"

"I panicked!!!" Dave pushes his sunglasses to the top of his head, red eyes wide. "Now I'm stress eating chocolate because I don't know what I'm going to say or what I'm gonna DO—“

"This is what the fuck we're gonna do." Karkat cuts him off. "Nep and I are gonna drive to the Dollar Store and buy Valentine decorations. We're gonna drop you off at your house so you have enough time to fight Dirk for the house and then get ready. When he gets there, you're going to have flowers and Gushers in your hand. He's going to ask 'what the fuck is going on' and you're going to get down on one knee, take his hand, give him the Gushers, and ask if he would like to go on a date with you."

Dave narrows his eyes. "How long have you had this planned?"

"FAR TOO LONG!!" Karkat shouts, getting the attention of everyone around him. "Let's hurry the fuck up, we don't have a lot of time!!"

"Hold up, lemme pay for these Kit-Kats, I really wanted these." Dave hurries to the counter and you stifle a laugh. "You're all idiots."

It's time to hustle. The three of you rush to your car and follow Karkat's plan; true to his word, Dave pulls a sword out from his backpack, takes a deep breath, and heads inside the house. You and Karkat (although not exactly happy about the method) give him a thumbs up and drive off. 

Time blurs as the two of you grab pink and red hearts and balloons and other items before paying and driving back. This is so IMPORTANT. Everyone's been waiting for these assholes to get together and here was the chance!!! Words are barely spoken; everything is on autopilot and you have ten minutes to go before John shows up.

The house is quiet as you open the door, walking in with Karkat blowing up balloons next to you. Dave must've won the sword battle. At what cost, you're not sure, but you hope it isn't as bad as you think it is. 

"He headed to Roxy's, said something about video games." Dave descends down the staircase with his tux from homecoming. "I'm uh...gonna need some help."

"I'm on it." You say firmly. "Kat, please please please finish those balloons. I have faith in you."

Your beloved friend nods and ties a balloon as you hurry up the stairs to Dave's room.

It's messy as always. T-shirts and ripped jeans cover the bed and you push empty soda cans aside as Dave stands awkwardly in his room. "Strip and put on the tux."

"Should've bought me dinner first." Dave winks, tossing his shades and phone onto the bed. "I'm a little nervous if you couldn't tell."

You run a hand through your curly hair and roll your eyes. "Of course we know. You just gotta let us help you every once in a while. Do you have a tie anywhere?"

"You can steal one from Dirk's room, I think." Dave shrugs. "Roxy might've left something behind. She's the one who's more likely to wear a tie or bowtie; that crazy girl. She's great. I love Roxy, she's like the mom of the group." 

"It's either Roxy or Kanaya for sure." You laugh, making sure the suit fits as Dave shrugs it on. "Ruffle your hair a bit? Hm...okay, yeah, that looks good."

You hurry off to Dirk's room, expertly avoid the smuppet trap placed in the doorway, and snatch a bowtie off his desk. You toss it to Dave before Karkat runs upstairs, panting and out of breath. "He's here!!"

Dave immediately freezes up and you have to put his bowtie on for him. "Deep breaths, alright? Look, we got the flowers and Gushers. Invite him inside, give him the shit, and ask him. Easy enough!!"

"I'm gonna puke." 

"Like hell you are."

_Ding dong._

"Fuuuuuuuuck." Dave paces around his room. "This was a horrible idea. Tell him to fuck off or something."

You snort and Karkat groans. "No, you fucker. Go open the door."

"You go open the door!!"

"FUCK OFF DAVE!"

As the two of them get into a shouting match, you slip out of the room and head downstairs. Checking to make that it's actually John, you unlock it and swing the door open, smiling at the surprised guy behind it. "John!! Lovely to see you here!"

"Hey, Nepeta!!" John smiles at you. "Is Dave here? Of course he is, duh. Is he upstairs?"

"Yep." You invite him in, still smiling. "In fact, he has something to ask you."

"Oh?" John's eyebrows raise. You're pretty sure he just forgot that he's standing right next to a Heart aspect. His emotions swell and there's curiosity mixed with excitement; hope trails along and nervousness is not far behind. "Does it have to deal with...?"

"I'll give you a hint," you grin, making a pink heart form in your hand. "It may have something to do with this."

John swallows and you wave and leave, heading upstairs. "Dave!! Get down here!!!"

"Do I have to?"

"YES!!!"

"Fuck. Uh, shit. Gimme a moment."

Time slows down. Your movements become slowed and everything is so incredibly quiet. It's like moving through molasses, honestly. Time starting and stopping is still really iffy to everyone and Dave thankfully didn't do it often. After a few more seconds, Time resumes and you take a deep breath. Dave heads down the stairs with a smooth expression, stopping by you to make sure you're alright.

"How long?" You mutter, clapping Dave on the back. "Well done for controlling it better."

"Five minutes." Dave whispers. "Wish me luck."

Your hand glows pink and you gently press it to Dave's chest; he inhales as he sees/hears what you do. Several hearts beating together, or more specifically, John's, who is nervous and excited and trying to choke back tears. "He's in love with me," Dave whispers again. "He really is, right?"

"Go get him, tiger." 

Dave swallows, heads down the stairs, and you smile. 

**xXx**

The next day, at the lunch table, you sit down next to Dave and grin. "So...?"

"Did you know Gushers are pretty good? It's like a weird food object that's squishy and you think it wouldn't taste good, but it does, and once it does, you can't stop eating them." Dave rattles off immediately. "I think I'm addicted to Gushers. At least it's something somewhat normal on the list after 'dead animals' and other shit."

Rose sits down across from the two of you and squints. "Dave..."

"Hey, Lalonde." Dave jerks his head up. "So I'm going to bet that you already know, and before you say anything, you owe Jade a fully knitted dog made of the finest silk around."

Rose looks puzzled for a moment before she gasps. "You did NOT."

He grins at her. "I did."

They're silent for a moment before Rose jumps up and tackles Dave, laughing and pinching his cheeks. "As your not related sister, I'm so fucking proud!! But as your friend who just lost a bet to Jade, I hate you. Where is he, anyways?"

Rose takes a second to look at you and she snorts. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"I'm a matchmaker Rose, it's in my blood." You purr. "Besides!! Everything worked out and Karkat is a very happy camper."

John enters the cafeteria and backs up immediately as Rose comes sprinting at him. "JOHN EGBERT!!"

"You guys told her already?" John grunts, making sure he pats Rose on the back. "What the hell guys? I thought I was going to have at least a good two minutes before she said anything." 

"So, how did it go down? I have many scenarios, and I'm wondering which one was most accurate." Rose laughs. 

"Sorry Rose, I don't kiss and tell." John grins. He heads over to Dave and wraps an arm around his waist, pecking Dave's cheek as the former goes bright red.

Green electricity sparks as Jade appears with Karkat in tow. "I HEARD JOHN AND DAVE ARE DATING???"

"Oh shit."

Everyone screams and pesters them with questions; in the midst of it all, you save Karkat and drag him over. "I think Dave has enough cover stories to last him a lifetime," Karkat mutters, trying not to laugh as Jade zaps all over the place. "Now he gets to go on a date for Valentine's. Speaking of that, are you taking Feferi?"

"Of course I am," you murmur, thinking of your girlfriend. She walks through the doors right as you talk and you grin. "I gotta go tell her about John and Dave."

"Do you think our friends are ever going to get the truth about what happened out of the four of us?" Karkat asks, fully smiling as you and him recall the night before. "Because of Rose gets wind of 'Heart powers, Gushers, and nudes', I don't think she'll ever let us live it down."

"That sounds like such an awkward combination." Karkat laughs. "Let's hope everyone can keep their mouth shut so only we know the truth. Deal?"

"Deal." You fist bump Karkat, walking off to meet your girlfriend. "Hey babe!!!"

"Hello darling!" Feferi giggles. "So, what's going on with John and Dave...?"

Your smile widens as you grab her hand, leading her to the table. "That's a very long and very good story. But first, let's discuss Valentine's..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also happy pride month!!!! I'm bi and proud and I hope everyone has a lovely day!
> 
> (MY PESTERLOG FORMAT IS WORKING I AM A HAPPY GIRL HALLELUJAH)
> 
> EDIT: I have decided to discontinue this because I lost all inspiration for this story. This is my very first fanfic I ever published and although it holds a special place in my heart, I just don't want to finish it.
> 
> Thank you for all the love on this! Go check out my other stories if you'd like <3


End file.
